The Numbered
by ryclar123
Summary: Rose Tyler is a new girl at Gallifrey High school, and soon finds the school is not like any other, with students and teachers one could not find elsewhere, including the mysterious orphans known as the Numbered Boys.
1. The Numbered Boys

**Warning: I am not British, so I am not completely sure how school works in the UK, but after some research, I hope I didn't butcher the system here. AND! I don't own Doctor Who.**

Rose Tyler was a new student to Gallifrey High, a sophomore. And she was late. Her first day and she was going to miss half of her classes. Of course the car had to get a flat on the way. And after a while, she decided she would walk the rest of the way while her mother waited for the car people to come fix the tire. She checked in at the office, before she hurried off to find her first class of the day.

She was lost. The school was a confusing mess of rooms and halls, and soon found herself going in circles. Theta Alpha 2 was her room. But she didn't know where Theta Alpha 2 could be. She figured the number was a room number, but she didn't know about those Greek letters. She wandered around for awhile, trying desperately to even just get back to the front office, or even just outside to get a better view on the school as a whole. But she couldn't.

"Oi! What are you doing out of class?" A voice barked from behind. Rose jumped and turned to see an older boy, not old enough to be a teacher, but old enough to be at least a senior or a visiting college student.

"I could ask you the same," Rose replied crossing her arms trying to hide the desperation of finding her way around.

"I have an off period; you're not old enough to have one yet. Who're you?" The boy asked. He was wearing a black leather jacket and navy blue sweater underneath it along with a pair of nice black slacks and black shoes. His hair was black and fairly short, even for a guy. His face was clean shaven and his ears. Oh his ears were big compared to his head making him look a bit awkward.

"My name is Rose Tyler," Rose answered.

"Nice to meet you Rose Tyler," the boy said his expression changing instantly to a jolly and joking look, while before serious, "You're new, aren't you?"

"What gave it away?" Rose replied, his smile infecting her face with a wide smile.

"Lost look on your face, in the halls in the middle of class without a pass. Plus, I haven't seen you around anywhere," the boy replied walking up next to her.

"Well, you're right, I am new," Rose replied, "D'you know where Theta Alpha 2 is?" The boy's smile faded and thought for a second before nodding.

"This way," he said offering his hand, which she took without even thinking it was a little odd to hold a hand of a guy she had just met. "Run," the boy said and took off running with her. Rose laughed, running with him, hand in hand. The two ran down the hall, their feet most likely disrupting some classes, down the stairs and down another hall for a short distance, before the boy stopped in front of a door.

"Thank you," Rose said with a smile and the split. Rose was about to open the door, when she turned around to ask who the boy was, but he had already disappeared. Sighing, she knocked on the door and slowly opened it, walking into the room. All eyes were on her, including the professor's. She nervously laughed.

"Sorry," Rose said, "I'm new, just arrived." The professor was tall with bleach blonde hair mixed with an under layer of brown. He wore a light brown blazer with a light green shirt and light brown dress pants. His light brown eyes held an expression of pain, though she did not realize why.

"Rose Tyler, yes, I got word about you. I am Master Koschei. Take a seat," the professor said and Rose decided not to ask why the 'Master' part of his title and she sat down in the first empty seat, towards the back of the room by a fellow woman. She had a short red leather jacket on with a bright blue and red blouse and blue jeans. Her skin was dark, as was her hair, but her eyes were bright. Her hair was in a bun sort of style out of her face and off her neck.

"Hi, Rose," the girl said with a smile, "I'm Martha Jones." Rose smiled back but looked at Master Koschei a bit worried. Martha, seeing this, laughed quietly. "Don't worry, he can't hear us back here over himself." She was still a bit confused. Master Koschei wasn't a loud talker. "He apparently hears something," Martha added, "All the time. Drums, he calls them, in a four beat pattern."

"Oh... so... he can't hear us over the drums?" Rose said.

"Unless he's being quiet himself," Martha replied with a nod, "He's a bit crazy, though he is supposed to be the best physics professor around."

"Then why's he teaching here? Not at some university or something?" Rose asked.

"He likes it here, I suppose. Went here when he was a kid too, I've heard. Either that or nowhere will take him because he's a nutter," Martha explained with a shrug, "Anyways, where'd you come from? Before this?"

"Stonewall High," Rose replied.

"Oh, it is a bit dodgy, that school," Martha responded, "I went to Getters High in Glasgow, last year, myself. For half the year at least, before we moved here." The two talked through the class, paying a little bit of attention to Master Koschei and taking a couple notes here and there. The bell rang, an odd bell, which sounded more like scrapping metal, and the class left. Rose picked up her pink backpack and went to leave the classroom, Martha next to her.

"Rose," Master Koschei called after her, "If you ever need help, I'll be here, alright? Make sure you are all caught up."

"Thank you, sir," Rose replied.

"What?" He asked.

"I said, thank you, sir," Rose said a bit louder.

"Oh, yes. Just doing my job," The Master said with a small smile before he returned to his desk and sat down beginning to shuffle through papers whispering something about 'endless' and 'revenge'. Rose left the room and found Martha outside of the room waiting for her.

"Where're you going next?" Martha asked.

"Um... English... With Professor Song," Rose answered looking at her cherry colored schedule.

"Oh, that's actually far from my next class..." Martha said, with a frown, before smiling widely, "I think I can help you though." She quickly ran through the crowded hall leaving Rose alone waiting by the physics classroom. She watched in the direction that Martha had gone, but couldn't see her through the crowds of people. Soon, however, Martha emerged pulling the arm of a young man, who looked a bit older than the two girls, by the arm.

"Ow! Martha! What're you doing?" The boy asked. He was wearing a nice blue suit with a red undershirt with the blue blazer buttoned up. His shoes were red and white converse.

"Alright. This is Rose, say hi," Martha ordered letting the boy go.

"Rose?" The boy asked looking at the blonde curiously before a wide grin appeared on his face, "Hello, Rose."

"She's new here," Martha explained, "She also is going to Professor Song's. You're going there, right, Ten?"

"Yeah, and your point is...?" The boy replied. Rose soon noticed, having been entranced by his wearing a suit and converse (two that did not seem to match, but worked well on him) during the school day, his hair. It was tall styled up. It was the kind of hair that someone would want to run their hand through, and depending on the person, that alone could amuse them for the rest of their life. It was very great hair.

"You'll show her the way, of course," Martha explained shaking her head.

"Oh, alright," Ten replied, "Come on Rose!" He grabbed her hand and pulled her down the hall, not running but swiftly.

"I'll see you at lunch, alright?" Martha called.

"Alright! I'll look for you!" Rose called back before turning to look at this boy called Ten. "So you're named after a number?"

"Oh yes," Ten replied, "My brothers are too. Other than John."

"Really? Did you parents have no imagination?" Rose asked. Ten laughed throwing his head back.

"No, no. We all have different parents. They named us something else, we just don't know what. All of us are orphans, you see," Ten explained though his expression had changed from amusement to a hint of sadness.

"Oh, I didn't know..." Rose said trailing off.

"Don't worry about it! Everyone knows it except for new people," Ten replied his jolly smile reappearing on his face.

"So… none of you know your names from before?" Rose wondered.

"Well, John and Twelve came as teens," Ten explained.

"Shouldn't Twelve remember his name then?" Rose asked, "And why does John have a name and you all don't?"

"Eh, I dunno. I bet Twelve just wants to forget, and I don't think John is John's name from before, either," Ten answered with a shrug, "Some really bad things happened to them before, they don't want to remember. And I can't blame them."

"Oh, sorry… I didn't mean to pry…" Rose apologized, changing the subject "D'you know a guy in a leather jacket?"

"Yeah, I know lots of guys with leather jackets," Ten answered with a laugh.

"I meant... I met a guy with a leather jacket. He was a tall guy with short black hair. He helped me find my last class," Rose explained, "He left before I could get his name."

"Did he have big ears?" Ten asked.

"Yeah, you know him?" Rose asked hopefully.

"Yup. That's Nine," Ten answered with a nod, "He's a ninja sometimes."

"Your brother?" Rose asked.

"Well, of sorts, yeah," Ten answered, "The only ones of us that are actually related is Five and Six, they're fraternal twins."

"Maybe I should meet these brothers of yours sometime," Rose suggested.

"They'd love you," Ten replied, stopping at a door, "We're here. Professor Song's English class."

"So... you're a sophomore?" Rose asked as the two entered the classroom where many of the students were already at, talking.

"Nope! Junior," Ten answered.

"Then why do you have a sophomore English class?" Rose asked.

"Failed it," Ten laughed, "So they put me in a sophomore class. They said if I don't pass, I won't graduate next year, but I can graduate if I pass."

"I'm not the best at English either," Rose admitted.

"Oh I'm decent at it. I just never do my work," Ten admitted with a laugh pointing at a door just in front of them. "There it is. The classroom of Professor River Song."

"These professors have the weirdest names here," Rose said looking at her schedule, "Like Ushas Rani for History, or Master Koschei. And... There's a professor called Eleven. Is he related to you too?"

"Yeah, he came not long after Nine and I. He's older than the two of us though," Ten replied with a laugh, "I know we have some of the oddest names in the world, but they are good people. I think my favorite is Salyavin Chronotis. He's the choir director. He's probably one of the oddest professors here."

"You're kidding!" Rose laughed, "There's seriously someone named Salyavin Chronitis?" Ten nodded with a laugh as well. "That's a very weird name." The two took a seat at a desk nearby the windows, sitting next to each other as a woman with huge marvelous curly hair came in.

"Hello, Professor Song, looking dashing as always," Ten called and the professor turned around.

"Really Ten? I thought that after I started dating your brother you might stop," Professor Song said, as if annoyed, but with a soft laugh that said she was just joking around with him.

"Even if you marry him, I will not stop telling the truth that you, River Song, look dashing," Ten replied. Rose watched the exchange curiously. It definitely told something about him. He was a flirt, at least with this professor. Perhaps he thought he could get a better grade if she liked him.

"You must be Rose Tyler," River said with a smile looking over at Rose shaking her head at Ten's compliments.

"Erm. Yeah," Rose replied.

"We'll get you caught up real fast," River said with a warm smile. She was much more comforting that that phsyics guy, but that was probably because he had entered her class in the middle of his lesson. Which wasn't the best first impression. However, Rose could imagine walking into Professor Song's class late, and her not being mad at her. In fact, she couldn't picture Professor Song mad at all. She seemed like one of the kind that took a lot to anger, and it was scary when she was angry. At least, that's what Rose got from her first impression of her. She was usually a good judge of character, at least she thought so. Her mother did not, though.

Class was fairly fun. Professor Song had them play games that would stretch their brains into thinking with the right kind of mindset to analyze papers, but they didn't get to the reading papers today. Professor Song said they would look at them tomorrow and to continue with the activities today after school. The bell rang and the school was released for lunch.

"I hate to leave, Rose, but I have a meeting with some friends," Ten said, "Just go down that hall and you'll reach the lunchroom, alright? Look for Martha." Before Rose could answer, Ten ran off. Rose followed Ten's directions, and walked down the hall nervously, holding the right strap of her pink backpack. She passed a crowded hall of people getting into their lockers and talking to each other.

"Oi! Leave him alone!" An older blonde straight haired man said slamming a curly blonde haired man against the orange lockers. Behind the straight haired one was a boy around the same age who was trying to pull the other one back.

"I don't need you to protect me, Five," the one trying to pull back the blonde said. This boy was shorter, wearing a multicolored scarf and had a full head of brown curls with bright buggy blue eyes.

"He needs to take it back, Four!" Five said shaking his head, but eventually backing off at Four's wish.

"No he doesn't," Four said. The blonde curly haired one had fallen to the ground and got up dusting himself off.

"I shouldn't be hurt for telling the truth," the curly haired one said.

"Shut up, Six," Five growled making him almost look like an angry golden labrador. Rose approached the three boys, at first planning to just pass, but decided she would try to help the situation.

"What's wrong?" Rose asked though still nervous about everything. Six glared at her, but the other two softened.

"He," Five pointed at Six, "Called Four crazy."

"He wasn't... just joking around?" Rose asked looked towards Six.

"Of course I was," Six replied.

"No you aren't!" Five said glaring at Six, "Four's had a problem in the past with... well, you know."

"It's not a big deal," Four said shaking his head stopping Five from saying anything more, changing the subject, "We're sorry for this whole ordeal. Would you like a jelly baby?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a gummy treat with a toothy grin.

"Uh, sure," Rose replied nervously and took the candy, eating it and smiling at the taste. The three boys seemed to have made up for the argument already. "Are you one of the kids that lives with Ten?" Six looked ashamed, while the other two simply showed a small smile.

"Yeah," Five answered, "We're three of the... Numbered Boys."

"Numbered Boys?" Rose asked.

"Oh, you don't know? You must be new," Six said with a raised eyebrow. The hall was starting to clear out.

"Erm, yeah, I am. I came today. Ten's in my English class," Rose explained.

"Oh, so you're a sophomore," Five said with a nod, "We're seniors. If you meet up with Eight or Seven, they're sophomores too."

"So... let's get this straight. I've met a Ten, Nine, Five, Four and Six. And there is an Eleven, Eight, and Seven. What about One, Two and Three?"

"Don't forget Twelve!" Six interjected.

"And Twelve," Rose added.

"Twelve's a junior, but the others have all graduated. They come by the place sometimes though. One owns the place himself now. He bought it from the Moffat, so he takes care of us now," Five explained.

"Four!" A voice called. The scarfed one turned to see a beautiful brown haired woman.

"Sarah!" Four replied. The woman ran up and hugged Four, nearly tackling him to the ground. "I thought you were going to America to be a journalist."

"Well, I missed my plane ride. Decided to stay here instead. One called me the other day, he said he found a job I could have here if I wanted it. That way I could stay with you all," Sarah explained happily. Five's face lit up like a light bulb.

"That's great! I'm sure Three was excited to hear," Four said with a very happy smile looking at Sarah.

"Actually, I came here as soon as I could, I haven't talked to the others yet," Sarah admitted. Four released the hug and kissed her cheek quickly, which caused Sarah to blush slightly.

"You better get going, then. Three will be ever so excited," Four said.

"Well, I was hoping... to have lunch with you," Sarah said.

"Lunch!" Rose quickly said having been lost in the conversation, "Sorry, I promised to have lunch with someone. I have to go."

"I can go with you if you want," Five offered.

"Well, your friend just arrived, and... yeah I don't want to inconvenience you," Rose said walking passed with a smile, "Don't worry, the lunch room's just down here, right?"

"Here, I'll show you," Five said walking with her, "I'll see you later, Sarah Jane."

"No, we can all go," Sarah Jane suggested.

"Erm, alright?" Rose replied with a nervous chuckle, "What about those two?" She pointed between Five and Six.

"Oh they fight all time. Five's a very protective sort," Sarah laughed walking up next to Rose with Four trailing behind her. The two blondes smiled at each other. "They like to play rough. Well, only with each other."

"Oh alright," Rose replied, "My name is Rose Tyler, it's a pleasure meeting you all."

"I'm Sarah Jane Smith, and you've already met these boys," Sarah said with a warm smile, hooking her arm with Rose's, and the group escorted her down the hall to the lunchroom finally.

"Would you care to eat with us?" Sarah Jane offered.

"Well, I promised Martha I would meet her here. You should go on, tell Three you're back," Rose suggested with a warm smile, "I really do appreciate you all." She was being a little over crowded by people wanting to help her. It was something she was used to, but she still hated it. Crowds. They always made her feel a bit claustrophobic, and one her first day at a school, she was already scared enough. Plus, she didn't want to be the reason they couldn't go out and have fun because Sarah Jane had decided to stay in town and they obviously weren't close. She wasn't being rude, and she hoped she didn't come off that way.

"Alright, well, we'll see you around!" Sarah said and waved at her before turning and the group walking off. Rose sighed and looked at the crowded lunchroom. It was a beautiful bronze colored room, with intricate designs on the stairs leading up to an upper eating area. So... she just had to find Martha somewhere in this huge room. Good luck, she told herself.

She barely began to move when she spotted someone in the corner, by no one else, people passing by as if he weren't there. Rose decided that she could go over there and look for Martha, over there. And so that was what she did.

"Hi," Rose said to the older man with a warm smile looking out over the cafeteria, "Thanks for showing me where my class was earlier." It was the boy she had first met, the one with the leather jacket. "Your name is Nine, isn't it?"

"No. That's my designation by the Moffat," Nine replied gruffly glancing at her for a moment. She could feel his eyes pierce into her, but they weren't cold, in fact, his glance seemed to melt into her.

"I don't understand," Rose said.

"No one does. My number, it isn't a name. A number is not a name for anyone," Nine replied.

"Then why don't you give yourself a name?" Rose asked curiously. Nine smiled softly, looking over the crowd.

"I don't deserve a name," Nine replied.

"Everyone deserves a name!" Rose insisted.

"It doesn't matter, either way," Nine replied, "No one would call me by any name other than my number."

"I would," Rose said looking up at the taller boy whose grin grew.

"Oh? What name would you suggest?" Nine asked with a chuckle.

"Oh, I dunno," Rose said thinking about it for a few moments before she smiled widely, bumping playfully against Nine, "What if I called you Chris?"

"Chris?" Nine asked his grin disappearing looking at her curiously.

"Yeah. Do you like it?" Rose answered a bit worried.

"It's fantastic," Nine replied his grin reappearing. However, before Rose could respond Martha came running through the crowd towards her.

"Rose! There you are! I was worried you got lost. Did Ten leave you?" Martha asked, before seeing Nine there, "Oh, hi, Nine." He nodded in greeting to Martha, his grin disappearing the instant she came by.

"Erm... well he gave me directions, before he had to leave for something. Then I bumped into some... well, guys fighting about a name one called a third one."

"It was Four, Five and Six, wasn't it?" Nine asked.

"Yeah. And then this girl, I think she's already graduated, Sarah Jane, came by," Rose explained.

"Sarah Jane didn't leave?" Nine asked curiously.

"Apparently not, according to her, One found a job she could have and stay here in London," Rose answered with a smile. Nine didn't seem to be fazed by it, but his words seemed to express his interest in the subject.

"Sorry you had to deal with Five and Six," Nine apologized.

"It wasn't really any problem. They seem nice," Rose replied with a smile.

"You must be starving, Rose," Martha said changing the subject, "I'll show you the line."

"Wanna come?" Rose asked Nine, who shook his head.

"I'm fine," Nine replied, "I'll see you around." And he left. She barely even blinked and he was gone. He was very fast and quiet with his movements, like a ninja. Or someone who didn't want to be seen or heard by anyone.

"He's a weird one," Martha noted with a laugh.

"I dunno, I think he's sweet," Rose said and Martha looked at her with one of those 'oohhhhhh' looks.

"Does someone have a crush on Nine?" Martha accused teasingly leading Rose towards the lunch line, which lead up to a vending machine.

"No!" Rose answered a little too quickly, "I just met him. Barely know him. Could be a complete jerk."

"Oh come on, he could be love at first sight! I know when I first met Ten..." Martha began, but became quiet before laughing, "Well, I guess it's no news to anyone."

"So you like Ten?" Rose asked, thinking Ten was indeed cute and charming and very desirable, but there was something that wasn't quite boyfriend material about him. Perhaps it was his overuse of charm. Though, she could see him and her being really good friends.

"Yeah. From the moment he walked into the office my first day," Martha replied.

"What happened?" Rose asked as they waited in the line, which was still a bit longer than one might think so far after lunch had begun.

"Well, I was getting checked in, last year, and he came in covered in paint," Martha said excitedly as they reached the vending machine at the end of the line, "Apparently he was caught painting Master Koschei's classroom, because The Master had complained his room looked drab in class." Rose laughed. Martha quickly explained the vending machine which gave out full lunches as long as you paid or had money in your account. Rose got her lunch, spaghetti and meatballs, and the two walked over to a lunch table.

"So... tell me. What's with the Numbered Boys? Why're they numbers?" Rose asked as they sat down.

"I don't know much. They won't say too much more than the fact they live together and their number tells what order they arrived in the house because some guy named Moffat brought them there," Martha explained, "They talk about it a lot, but they don't really say anything about it. They all arrived at different ages, so their numbers don't really tell who's older."

"That's why Ten is a junior and Eleven's graduated?" Rose asked.

"Far as I can tell," Martha said, "Rumor is that they are all orphans, or were left by their parents when they were younger. Some say they saw their parents die, which is why the Moffat took them in. Other say it was the Moffat who killed their parents so he could have the children."

"But... one of them said One owned the place now," Rose said very curious about this, even though it was all rumor and speculation. If it were true... well, Rose didn't know what to think if it were true.

"They say that the boys found out the Moffat killed their families, and so they killed him off in return," Martha said but then laughed, "But it's all rumors. It's probably just a story, distorted by the imaginations of kids that go here." Rose laughed and agreed, thinking of Nine and his problem with being called a number. She didn't understand these numbered boys, but she wanted to understand. Normally, Rose Tyler was not the girl to pry, but she was curious enough to at least attempt to get to the bottom of this. The rest of the day went without much of a hitch. She had History with Ushas Rani and art with Mrs. Williams, whom was a great admirer of Vincent Van Gogh, especially the painting of the sunflowers for some reason. Rose didn't understand. She just chose Art because she needed another class, and it was the only one mildly appealing after Theater, which she had before Master Koschei's class so she didn't get to go her first day.

She headed home, and cooked some dinner, her mother not yet home from work, before she headed off and watched some television in her room until it was time for bed, and then she fell asleep. It was a fantastic day. She felt as though she made a good amount of friends today, and discovered a very interesting mystery for her to solve. Perhaps when she would actually go to all her classes, she'd feel more a part of the school. Rose thought of the Numbered Boys, and Nine. Nine seemed to have something behind those eyes that was painful, despite the warm feeling she got when he looked at her. Her mind drifted off to sleep thinking of Nine's eyes looking at her warmly, despite his cold looking exterior.

**Currently, I have three chapters, but in order to stay ahead, I'll post them once I have a new chapter done, or if its taking too long to be written. I felt it got a bit repetitive when Rose met Ten and the meeting with the others afterwards. I hope you liked it! **


	2. New School, New Life

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Rose rolled over hitting her alarm to snooze. She continued laying in her bed, trying to recapture what her dream had been about. She didn't remember, but she knew that it had been an enjoyable dream and wanted to return to it.

"Rose!" Her mother called into her room. Rose groaned a reply something like, "I'm getting up." Rose finally pushed herself up out of the bed, and walked over to the built in closet near her bed. She quickly pulled out a pair of clothes, and got dressed. Blue jeans and a white shirt with a pink heart and a white wolf howling in the middle of it. She walked groggily out of the room, seeing her mother across the hall in her room watching the morning news.

"Ready, Mum," Rose said and her mother, a blonde as well, rose from her seat and picking up keys from a dresser by the door.

"Alright, let's go, Rose," her mother said walking towards the door. Rose picked up her pink backpack from by the door and the two headed out to the car.

"Excited?" Her mother asked starting the car.

"No more than yesterday," Rose replied as the car backed out of the parking spot and onto the road.

"Again, I'm sorry about that," her mother replied looking at her for a second, taking her eyes off the road only a moment.

"Its fine," Rose replied sincerely, "I met some cool people because of it. Though, I don't think my physics professor is too happy with me, though."

"Master... Yoshi?" Her mother asked trying to think of the teacher's name.

"Koschei," Rose corrected her, "He's crazy... apparently he hears drums all the time." Her mother laughed. Rose chuckled as well.

"Did you make any friends?" Her mother asked. This was how it usually went with them. Her mother worked all day, and didn't get home until a little past midnight, so Rose didn't get to see her after school most days. They had their talks in the mornings instead.

"Uh, yeah. There was this girl, Martha, she helped me around... and... Chris showed me my first class. And... Erm... Te-... David is pretty cool too," Rose replied, deciding telling her mother there were boys who were named about numbers would make her worried.

"Two guys, and only one girl?" Her mother asked, "No more than one girlfriend yet?" Her mother was always cautious when her daughter talked about boys more than she did girls, believing her to be boy crazy.

"No, not yet, I suppose," Rose replied with a shrug, "I was only there half a day. Though, there was Sarah Jane, she walked me to lunch." She decided to leave out the three other boys that had walked her as well, feeling her mother might faint, and that would be bad, since her mother was driving.

"Oh, alright," her mother replied as they pulled up to the grand dark blue colored school building with bronze fixings. "Well, we're here now." Rose opened the door and got up.

"Bye, Mum," Rose said with a smile.

"You be good now, Rose," her mother warned.

"I will," Rose promised.

"See you later," Her mother said as Rose closed the car door after which her mother drove off. Rose walked into the building, which opened into the cafeteria which was filled with people. She walked through the cafeteria, looking for someone she had met the previous day to help her find her first class. However, in her search, she lost track of what way she was going, and walked right into someone, falling back on her bottom.

"Oh, I'm sorry," a soothing voice said and a hand was offered, "I should have been paying attention to where I was walking."

"No, it was my fault," Rose replied taking the hand and standing back up to see a young man, about her age, with long curly light brown hair which reached a little past his shoulders.

"No, really, it was my fault," the boy said with a twinkle in his blue and purple eyes (Rose found it very interesting to see that he had two different colored eyes, as she hadn't seen that before). Seeing that she wouldn't be able to take the blame for it, she decided to change the subject.

"I'm looking for Martha, or a boy named Nine... or Ten would work as well," Rose explained, hoping that perhaps this boy could help her find someone.

"Oh? One of the numbered boys?" The boy asked with a charming smile.

"Yeah, or Martha," Rose replied with a nod.

"Do you need one of them for a certain purpose?" The boy asked curiously.

"Oh, well... I just hoped they would help me find my class," Rose answered, "You see, I'm new here."

"Ah! I see. I was wondering why I hadn't seen such a pretty face around here," the boy replied, "If you want an escort, I could help you out. I don't know where any of those you named are, so..."

"Uh, alright, then," Rose replied, "I'm Rose Tyler."

"I'm Eight," the boy replied causing Rose's eyes to widen.

"You're one of the numbered boys," Rose pointed out.

"Correct," Eight replied with a laugh, "You being new explains why I haven't heard anything about you from Ten."

"So, he didn't say anything about me?" Rose asked, already knowing the answer, and not feeling too surprised about it, especially since Ten seemed a big flirt and probably forgot about her.

"Oh, I bet he did," Eight replied, "I got stuck at school most of yesterday. Mr. Turlough wanted me to help get some things ready for the musical before the auditions are held."

"Musical?" Rose asked.

"Oh yeah, the auditions are today and tomorrow after school. If you'd like to try out...?" Eight suggested with another twinkle in his eyes.

"Oh no," Rose said shaking her head, "I'm an awful singer."

"That would be alright. We always are in need of people, even if you can't sing," Eight replied with a laugh, "I managed to convince Nine to come, though Ten was more reluctant, though I thought it'd be the other way." Rose raised an eyebrow, and thought of Nine singing and dancing. It was actually really hard to see Nine dancing, but she was curious.

"I'll see what I can do," Rose said with a smile.

"Alright then! Off to your first class. Who do you have?" Eight asked.

"Mr. Eleven," Rose replied with a grin.

"Oh, that will be a fun class," Eight replied, "Come on." Eight turned and began towards the halls in the large school.

"So, who's after Eleven?" Eight asked.

"Then it's Chesterton with Latin, and Turlough," Rose said with a smile.

"Oh? So you are taking Theater," Eight noted.

"Well, I thought it'd be fun," Rose replied with a laugh seeing the happy look on Eight's face. He was not the cleanest shaven in the world, with a bit of peach fuzz, unlike the other numbered boys she had already met. But, he was cute.

"Oh it will be! Turlough's a bit odd, quiet a lot, but he's the best professor here... don't tell Eleven," Eight said whispering the last part with a chuckle, stopping at the end of the hall. "Chesterton is the first door on the left down this hall."

"Alright," Rose said and began memorizing the path they were going to take to get to Eleven.

"You see," Eight began, "The school is laid into five halls. Theta, Beta, Sigma, Phi, and Zeta. The halls are arranged like a hand, sort of. If the fingers curved and swooped around, but from the front of the school, you can find the halls right next to each other." He held out his hand spreading his fingers apart and running a finger from his other hand along each finger.

"The second letter tells you which floor. Alpha is bottom floor, Gamma is second, Omega is third, and Kappa is fourth," Eight explained arriving at the last hall and turning to go down it. "The last number is the room number. Eleven's down this hall, Theta Alpha 11."

"At least most of my classes are on the bottom floor," Rose laughed.

"Most sophomore classes are. Junior and Senior classes are usually on the higher floors. Though, not always. The top floor is mostly for classes that take a lot of room. Like under water basket weaving, or theater. It's all one floor, no extra halls or anything.

"If there is empty space between the halls, then how does it all stay up there on the top floor?" Rose asked.

"Magic, duh," Eight joked, before chuckling and adding seriously, "A very complicated scientific process. Master Koschei can explain it if you really want to know."

"Maybe I'll ask him," Rose laughed.

"He goes bonkers when asked. He'll be so excited," Eight replied stopping by a door, "Here's Eleven's room." Rose smiled.

"Oh good," Rose said, "I really appreciate you showing me where to go."

"And hey," Eight noted just a moment after he turned to leave, "You'll meet Seven soon. Beware."

"Of Seven?" Rose asked.

"Of Seven and Eleven," Eight answered with a laugh.

"Eight?" A voice came from behind. Rose turned around and saw a brown haired woman with bright blue eyes and large red lips.

"Grace!" Eight said turning and hugging the woman. He planted a quick kiss on her lips and let go of the hug. "I didn't expect you to be here."

"I didn't think I'd see you here," Grace answered happily, "Thought you'd be in the theater."

"Well, I was going to be, but Rose here needed help to find her classes."

"Oh, Rose? You're new, I suppose. Welcome to Gallifrey High, then," Grace said.

"Anyways, why are you here? I thought you were going... elsewhere today," Eight said avoiding Rose's confused look at his generality.

"Nah, my trip to Glasgow was canceled," Grace replied with a smile. Rose felt out of the loop, and attempted to slowly slip away.

"Rose? Do you need anything else?" Eight asked.

"No, I think I know where everywhere is," Rose replied with a smile, slowly opening Eleven's door.

"Well, Grace and I will be going now. If you need help, just ask, alright?" Eight said.

"I promise, I will," Rose replied with a smile, before entering the room and Eight and Grace began down the hall talking in hushed tones Rose could not make out.

"Ah, Rose Tyler," a deep voice said from behind her. She jumped and turned around seeing a man with dark brown hair styled up as much as possible, nice and full hair too reaching several inches on the top of his head. He looked barely older than a high school graduate.

"You must be Eleven," Rose said.

"Mr. Eleven," he corrected her with a laugh, the pitch of his voice raising, it having been forced lower before, "I am your Algebra II professor."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Rose said with a nervous smile.

"So, you're the one whose stolen my brother's heart," Eleven noted. Rose raised an eyebrow. "Ten's, I mean."

"Oh..." Rose said a bit shocked. Eleven laughed loudly.

"He falls in love with all the girls. Even my girlfriend," Eleven said, "He was talking about you all yesterday after school." Well, at least Ten said something.

"He did?" Rose asked a bit surprised but happy that she had made a big enough impact on at least one of them.

"Oh yeah. Four, Five, and Six said something about you too," Eleven noted walking over to a desk in the corner and sitting down.

"Oh... yeah... At lunch... Was Three happy about Sarah Jane staying?" Rose asked remembering lunch and how Four and Five seemed so happy to see her. Though, really, Six didn't seem to care as much, more worried about not getting Five to kill him.

"Oh yeah, we all were. Three and Four were closest to her, though. You should've seen Three's face..." Eleven began before trailing off and adding, "You know, you should meet Three. You'd like him."

"I'd love to sometime," Rose replied with a huge smile, "Does he come by the school often?"

"Sometimes, though he mostly works at the police station. He's a sort of detective," Eleven explained. Suddenly, a bell rung. "School has begun. You better take a seat."

"Alright," Rose replied and took a seat at the nearest seat. The hall began getting filled with voices, and soon the room began filling with students. She watched as each person came in, hoping to see someone she knew. There were a couple from her later classes, but she didn't know their names. However, Martha did not enter.

The second bell rung, signaling the start of class. Eleven rose from the desk and walked up to the board and began writing a radical expression, the square root of eight.

"Tell me, how do you simplify this?" Eleven asked. The room was silent. "No one? Alright, then, let's ask the new girl." Rose's eyes widened.

"Uh... er... I-I," Rose stammered. Eleven laughed.

"I'm just kidding," Eleven said.

"No, I think I know," Rose replied confidently.

"Alright then, Ms. Tyler," Eleven said holding out the dry erase marker and Rose walked up to the board. She hesitated for a moment, before she began writing. Two times the square root of two.

"Good, Rose!" Eleven said, "Where'd you learn that?"

"Just sort of… taught myself, I suppose; it's just common sense, isn't it? If three twos go into eight, two of those can be squared to equal two times the square root of two, if one… uses the 'it doesn't matter what order you do multiplication in' rule," Rose shrugged.

"Well, that's what we're going over today," Eleven said with a huge smile patting her back and taking the marker back. "Alright, back to your seat." Rose nodded and sat back down with a confident look on her face. "How to simplify radicals. Recall how previously we have learned that when you multiply two radicals..."

Class went on. While Rose, at first, was angry at Eleven for calling her out, she didn't mind it too much after her initial anger dissipated. She did get to show off that she already knew the lesson. Plus, he didn't get onto her when she was drawing instead of taking notes, which she was sure he noticed because he had made a sudden look at her paper before smiling again. The bell rung and it was time for her next class, Latin with Mr. Chesterton. Martha was not in that class either. Despite Eight saying she would meet Seven later, she didn't really learn anyone's names. Though there was one boy, who obviously had a scottish accent and was probably the weirdest kid in the class. Perhaps that was Seven. Rose didn't know. And the boy was gone right after class before Rose could ask the boy anything. It was like something was wrong with the boy, or he was avoiding her… or both.

Rose made her way up the steps, heading for the top floor, where the theater room was. That was in fact, her next class. The last class which she hadn't attended the day before. She still hadn't seen any of the numbered boys she had met before. She didn't know pretty much anyone in her classes, and really, she didn't want to know anyone in those classes. They all just seemed like the kind of people she wouldn't want to be friends with. It was either that, or she felt like she had made a connection with the numbered boys and any other friendship would just get in the way of figuring those boys out. It took a while to get all the way up the steps, but when she made it she looked out at the top floor with a surprised expression. It was a beautiful floor. The halls had a bronze metal sort of look and the most intricate designs within the metal. But when she felt the walls, it felt like a normal wall and not the metal it looked like.

"Rose?" A voice came from behind. She turned around and saw the leather jacket clad young man, Nine.

"Did you even change?" Rose asked with a laugh.

"What? You don't like it?" Nine asked back looking slightly offended.

"No, I do," Rose insisted with a laugh, "I just thought you'd be wearing something different."

"I changed my jumper," Nine replied with a smile bursting onto his face. The bell rang, and Rose's eyes widened. "We're late."

"Let's hurry," Rose replied, "Where are you heading?"

"Theater," Nine said, "You?"

"Same," Rose replied with a smile widening on her face. The two took off running, Rose following Nine, not really knowing where the theater room was. The walls throughout the floor were the same as when she first entered, though the designs varied. It wasn't long before Nine yanked open a door and the pair ran into the room.

"Nine!" The familiar voice of Eight yelled.

"Sorry," Rose said, seeing Eight and a man standing next to him, a red head, who was older than her and even Nine, probably around his fourties.

"Oh, a new student," the red head said, "You must be Rose. Eight told me about you."

"Er, yeah... you're Mr. Turlough?" Rose asked.

"Indeed. That is me," the red head said with a smile, before turning towards Nine, "Now, you have no excuse, do you, Nine?" Rose looked at Nine who looked lost for words.

"I got lost," Rose said, "Couldn't find the room up here, so he helped me."

"Well, I'll forgive it this time," Turlough said. Rose didn't know what it was about the red head, but she liked him. Maybe it was the freckles that made him look like an old teenager, or the charming little smile he wore on his face. It was different than the charming smile Ten had yesterday, it was more innocent and subtle almost like he wanted to make sure it was innocent and subtle.

"We're doing group work," Eight said, "Most groups are already underway, you could join one, if you want, Rose. We're just preparing a scene or working on stage sets, depending on the group." Rose looked towards Nine who was still smiling widely.

"Er, could I join Nine's group? I mean, the least I could do to help him for escorting me," Rose said.

"Well?" Turlough said turning towards Nine.

"As long as the others don't mind," Nine replied, "I'm good with that."

"What?" A blonde boy said walking up. It was the boy from lunch yesterday that had attacked the curly haired one.

"Five, would you mind if Rose joined our group?" Nine asked with a smile at the fellow senior blonde.

"Rose?" Five asked before he finally spotted Rose, "Oh, yeah. Fine with that, I am."

"Talking like that, why are you?" Eight asked with a laugh.

"Shut up," Five said playfully elbowing Eight's stomach.

"Hey!" Turlough interrupted before anything else could go on, "No hitting, alright? And no making fun of people, Eight."

"I was just joking!" Eight insisted.

"So, shouldn't we get rehearsing?" Nine asked interrupting the conversation.

"Yes," Turlough agreed, "You four go on." Rose nodded, and followed the three to a corner of the large open room. There were a lot of others in the room as well, all seeming to practice a scene or Build some sort of prop or scenary. The three stopped and faced Rose, who seemed a bit nervous.

"So, what is she going to do?" Eight asked, stroking his chin.

"She could take my part," Nine suggested.

"I wouldn't want to-" Rose began.

"He plays a woman," Five noted.

"Oh..." Rose said before looking at Nine and laughing. "Why would he be the woman?" After all, his hair was shorter than the other two. Especially Eight's.

"He's the perfect alto. He can reach pitches in his voice that sounds like a woman better," Eight explained.

"Either that or he's a woman in disguise," Five laughed. Eight and Rose both laughed as well, but Nine did not look amused.

"Wigs. Not many lines," Nine corrected not smiling, though the other two still looked amused despite the "death glare" he was giving the two boys.

"Oh, right," Rose teased with one of her smiles where the tip of her tongue showed.

"So anyways, Rose can take that part, and I can work on the scenery," Nine said.

"Well, Rose, would you like to? You could work on the scenery instead or... be the director," Five suggested.

"No! I'm the director!" Eight insisted.

"I could do the part, if Nine really truly doesn't mind," Rose said.

"I would prefer you take the part," Nine supplied.

"For today, you can just watch what we do, at least the first time through," Eight explained, "Then we could help you through."

"Here's my script," Nine pulled out a stack of papers from inside his leather jacket, "Your first line is on the second page. The ones in blue." She looked at the pages with various short hand written all over it.

"Alright," Rose said, "You don't need it?'

"I have it all," Nine said pointing to the side of his head, "Up here."

"Ok, making sure," Rose replied and sat down. The three began their scene with the limited props they had at the moment. It was about two men who were fighting over a woman. Rose had a hard time stifling a giggle when Nine came in pitching his voice higher.

"Oh dearests," Nine said in his high pitched voice, the character obviously not knowing what they were fighting over, "Why must you fight? Can't you two simply share what you are fighting over?" It was too much, Rose laughed. Nine did not change his expression, but his eyes brightened in an instant, before darkening again. As it so happened, the two men killed each other in the end, shooting each other in a duel. Eight's death looked very real, while Five seemed to overact the entire death scene. Nine came out and said something about being sad they were gone as Rose followed along on the script. His scribbles were little comments on what the others were doing, sometimes going into details of a backstory she had more fun reading than watching the play itself. Not that she was bored, or it was uninteresting as a scene itself, she just found the amount of thought put into a character with a total of ten lines was very impressive.

"Alright, so Rose," Eight said once the scene was over, "When you enter, you need to..." And that's basically how the entire class went. Eight directed her on exactly everything she needed to do, down to the slightest micro-expression. Needless to say, some of Eight's instructions were impossible, though he apparently was able to do them, and expected everyone to be able to as well.

The bell had rung before they knew it. Nine had faded into the background at some point and now was gone. At least she had a feeling of where she was going today.

"Do you need help finding your next class?" Five asked walking up to her as she began to leave the room.

"I... I think I'll be fine," Rose replied, not wanting to be a burden to him.

"Oh, alright," Five said a bit dejectedly.

"I wouldn't mind if you wanted to walk with me to class," Rose suggested and Five's smile returned to his face.

"We better go, or we'll be late," Five laughed walking out the door, and Rose followed him out.

"So... was it Eight who convinced you to go into Theater?" Rose asked. Five laughed.

"No, I was the first. I convinced Eight, and he became obsessed," Five answered.

"You created a monster, Doctor Frankenstein," Rose laughed. Five raised an eyebrow before he chuckled himself.

"I suppose I did," Five replied, "He's very talented, though. Turlough said he's never seen a kid completely submerge themselves into a character like he does. Days before a performance, he'll be the character all day. Drove the professors mad last year."

"Really?" Rose asked with slight disbelief.

"We were doing Hamlet, and he was Claudius. Kept calling everything wizardry or fascinating and every time someone spoke to him, he would yell at them to bow before the king," Five replied laughing.

"You're kidding," Rose said.

"Not at all," Five responded, "He expects us to do the same as well. So, when he's around we're in character so he doesn't yell at us." They had already gone downstairs by this point and they were nearing her classroom.

"Tyrant much?" Rose joked.

"He has fun," Five replied with a chuckle, "Don't blame him for that. Kinda fun to be in character anyways."

"I bet so… He's a unique one," Rose replied with a smile, stopping at her door, "Here's my stop." The door was open, but she was standing next to it, so she wasn't blocking traffic.

"Well, I suppose I'll head to my class. See you around, Rose," Five said with a smile waving and walking towards the stairs again. Rose turned, and entered the class, seeing Martha who waved.

"Martha! How are you?" Rose said taking the seat next to Martha.

"Great! How's your first full day going?" Martha countered with a large smile.

"Good, good. Met some new people, got to know some boys better," Rose replied.

"Don't tell me you're in theater with Eight," Martha began with almost a worried looked.

"Yeah, I am. I'm in his group for this project even," Rose replied with an amused look.

"Oh, dear. I am sorry for you," Martha tease, "He gets a little crazy. Just wait until the week before the musical."

"You were in theater?" Rose asked.

"No, I have a friend that was in theater, Grace Holloway," Martha answered, "She's dating Eight right now, but she still gets very frustrated with Eight, especially before a performance. So, she quit."

"I met her this morning," Rose said remembering when she had made it to Eleven's classroom, "And I might have met Seven. I'm not sure."

"Oh, yeah. He can be that way," Martha said with a nod, "Mysterious one that one. He gets nervous around people who the other boys have already met. He's usually the last to meet someone."

"That explains it I suppose," Rose replied, "He seemed to avoid me."

"Awkward one that is," Martha said.

"Ahem!" A clearing of a throat came through and soon they noticed that Master Koschei was there at the front of the class waiting for the class to quiet down. And it did quickly. "Alright, let's begin class. Today we're going to do a lab demonstrating the three kinematic equations. We'll begin by getting into groups of four and grabbing a lab table." Rose and Martha got into a group together, with two others, a dark skinned boy and a brown haired girl with curly hair that stood up on her head. The boy, she recognized, was in her next class and the girl had been in her history class.

"Mickey, a pleasure to meet you," the dark skinned boy introduced himself.

"Teagan Jovanoka," the woman added. The four went to a lab table and waited for Master Koschei to give them further instructions.

"So... are you having fun here?" Mickey asked.

"Uh, yeah," Rose answered, "Met several people, love the professors. Hopefully, Mum won't have me transfer. I like it here more than Stonewall."

"Have you met the numbered boys?" Teagan asked.

"Oh yeah. I've met all but... One, Two, and Three, I believe," Rose answered, "I'm in Five, Eight and Nine's theater group."

"So you've definitely met Five. He's my favorite," Teagan noted with a laugh.

"Whatever, Ten's nicer," Mickey said, "Five's so emotional. And Nine. I'm pretty sure Nine hates me."

"Why's that?" Rose asked curiously.

"He always gives me a weird look when I walk by him," Mickey replied, "Pretends I don't exist sometimes."

"Oh... well, that's rude of him," Rose replied as Master Koschei rounded towards their group setting four papers on their table. The four read through the instructions and began their work. The lab consisted of several trials of dropping various objects from certain heights, and calculated the velocities of the objects and the acceleration of wind up cars. Master Koschei walked around the room and watched the groups to make sure they were still on task.

"Five's nice though," Teagan noted as they dropped their third pencil from a meter up, "He's very protective over the other boys. 'Specially Four."

"Yeah, well, I have to agree with Six on Four. He's a bit bonkers," Mickey noted.

"Hey, don't be rude," Martha interrupted, "I mean, Four's weird, but he's not any more bonkers than I am."

"Well, we're all a bit crazy," Rose inserted.

"True. You'd think he'd get hot in that coat all the time, though," Mickey said and Teagan laughed.

"You're right about that," Teagan agreed, "That doesn't make him crazy."

"I suppose so," Mickey sighed as Rose hit the timer and the pencil was dropped. She stopped the timer as the pencil hit the ground.

"1.45 seconds," Rose called and Martha recorded it. The four finished their data collection and copied down the times recorded. As they were doing the calculations, the bell rang.

"The lab write-up is due tomorrow!" Master Koschei called over the rumble that engulfed the room the instant the bell rang. The four hurried from the room. Both girls split from the group, leaving just Rose and Mickey together walking to English. The two were fairly quiet the entire walk, which wasn't really far anyways besides a little small talk about Rose transferring to Gallifrey High.

They entered the class, and feeling it appropriate, she sat by Mickey, and watched the door to see Ten when he came in. Mickey was talking to her about something, but she wasn't sure what, she just placed 'uh huhs' occasionally. However, Ten never came in. Rose sighed as the late bell rang and class officially began. Ten must be sick or something today. Professor Song handed out a speech and went through it with the class, reading it aloud at first, before beginning the annotation of the passage for a rhetorical analysis.

Class went extremely slowly, and their activity yesterday did not seem to help Rose. Mickey seemed to be doing well though. His mind seemed to be wired correctly to see things Rose never would've seen, such as repetition in order to convey the severity of the depression the author was in. Mickey even, somehow, came up with the fact the writer was sick at the time. Rose was lost, but she kept going as best as she could.

Eventually, class let out, and it was lunch time. Before she left, she walked up to Professor Song.

"Do you know where Ten is?" Rose asked.

"No, I'm sorry, sweetie," Professor Soong replied, "I bet he's just sick. No reason to worry." Rose nodded and sighed, before turning to leave.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Rose said.

"Until then, Ms. Tyler," Professor Song replied with a smile. Rose left the room and made her way towards the lunchroom. Mickey had left to go somewhere with a friend of his, so she was on her own. Again. At least this time Five and Six weren't arguing in the hall, not even in the hall as far as Rose could see. Oh well. She was on her own for now.

She found her way to the lunchroom, where she got her hot lunch from a vending machine, looking around, specially looking for Nine where he had been standing the day before. Low and behold, he was there just standing there, despite several empty tables.

"Hey," Rose said running up to the leather jacket clad young man, "D'you wanna sit with me?"

"Oh... erm... I suppose. Alright," Nine agreed with a sigh and the two settled at a smaller table with four chairs, sitting across from each other. Rose smiled at Nine.

"So, how are you today?" Rose asked finding nothing else suitable to start with.

"Fantastic," Nine answered with a nod.

"Nervous for tryouts today?" Rose asked.

"Nah, not really," Nine answered simply. Rose studied him, trying to think of something that he looked like he would be interested in and carry on a conversation with him.

"What'd you think of Master Koschei?" Rose asked. Nine's face darkened.

"Don't like him. Very rude to me and my... brothers... because... of what we are," Nine answered darkkly. Add to the list of don't talk about: Master Koschei.

"Oh... I'm sorry, I didn't... realize," Rose apologized. Nine looked like he was about to say something but he was interrupted by Martha, Grace, and Teagan walking up to the table. Martha made a weird face when she saw Nine sitting at the table.

"Erm. Well, I better be going," Nine said standing up. Rose attempted to protest, but he was already gone.

"Sorry," Tegan apologized, "We didn't mean to drive him off."

"It's alright," Rose replied with a small smile, "If you want, you can join me."

"Never thought I would see Nine actually spending time with someone else, willingly," Grace noted taking a seat at the table.

"He doesn't have anyone he spends time with?" Rose asked.

"Other than the other numbered boys, no," Martha answered taking a seat as well. Tegan took the last seat though she seemed a bit uneasy about it, probably feeling bad still that they had interrupted and Nine had left because of them.

"Oh... I see," Rose said a bit curiously looking the direction that Nine had disappeared in. She looked back. "So... Five, Eight and Ten, for you three. Do any of them have someone special?"

"Well... I dunno about One or Three, but Two has a guy, Jaime, who he's basically married to right now," Martha noted, "And Eleven and Professor Song are dating."

"Eight and I are together," Grace added in.

"Otherwise, they're all single," Tegan replied with a smile, "Though I dunno even if they are interested in anyone. They seem to avoid dating like it's the plague."

"Why?" Rose asked without thinking.

"Well, I've tried asking Ten out," Martha began, "But he simply skated over the matter entirely."

"Maybe they're gay," Rose suggested. Tegan, Grace and Martha all laughed at the suggestion.

"Well, Two definitely is, but the others I don't think they are," Martha replied, "Ten flirts with all the woman, he stares at women... I think that if any of the others are, then it would be Four or Seven."

"Don't forget the look Four gives Sarah," Tegan noted.

"Oh yeah," Martha agreed, "They all have little signs, I suppose. Though I suppose they could."

"Maybe they are," Grace said looking at Martha with a curious look, "It would explain a few things. Maybe Nine and Ten are having a love affair!"

"Nah," Martha said a bit too strong, "Can't be. Ten's got to be straight." The four ate lunch together, talking mostly about the number boys and whether or not they were straight or not. They agreed in the end that Five, Eight, Nine and Ten were all at least straight, while the others were questionable (they had forgotten about Eleven during the conversation). The four laughed, and talked about the boys, adding in little facts about themselves in the process, getting to know each other better. It was fun, and Rose felt like she belonged here at Gallifrey High.

**Did you enjoy it? I know I had** **fun writing it. However, soon things will be getting much more serious, unfortunately for the pair. Until next time! **

**~ Ryclar123**


	3. A Musical? A Play?

It was her second day at her new school, and she was already making several new friends.

The final bell had rung releasing class for the day. Rose packed up her art supplies, bid farewell to Mrs. Williams, and headed up the stairs. She had made a promise to a boy this morning, and luckily, despite not having a phone, she had no need to tell her mother. After all, her mother worked very late into the night, and wouldn't be home until late. She needn't know, nor would she find out if Rose had been out later than usual.

The musical tryouts were today. She didn't know what the musical was about, nor could she sing well, but she was the people pleasing type, so she said yes. At least Nine would be there. And Eight was surely going to be there. She reached the top floor, and found the theater room, entering the room quietly. Beyond the door there was only about a dozen kids, about half boys and half girls.

"You made it!" Eight said hurling towards her, holding a paper, "Fill this out, sign at the bottom. Auditions will start soon. When you go up, give this paper to me, alright?" Rose took the paper and nodded.

"Alright," Rose replied with a smile. She made her way to a desk and began filling out the form. It was mostly finding out what times she was available for rehearsal. While she had pretty much every day available, she decided to say she needed Fridays off. Knowing Eight as much as she did, which wasn't much, she had a feeling if she said every day, Eight might have rehearsal every day until midnight. And she had homework she would have to do.

It was a short amount of time before Eight walked up to the stage on the far end of the room and began speaking. It was all fairly simple stuff, how auditions would go. There was a piece of music each person would sing, and then some short little scenes from the play to act out. During all of this, Rose was looking in the small group for someone, having now finished the form. She spotted Nine standing by the stage and she quietly made her way over there. Five was nearby as well, but those three were the only numbered boys there. None of the girls Rose had lunch with were there.

"We'll begin with-" Eight said as a boy came flying through the door. It was Ten. Despite him being absent from class, he was at the audition. Rose thought that Eight told her he had turned him down.

"Nice of you to finally join us, Ten," Turlough, the red head theater teacher said his arms crossed and an amused look on his face.

"Sorry, I was caught up... with things..." Ten apologized walking over to where Rose and Nine were standing, mirroring Nine's stance.

"I thought you weren't coming," Rose whispered as a couple made their way up to the stage.

"What'd make you think that?" Ten asked his breath having already return to normal.

"Eight said you refused," Rose replied with a smile.

"I did. Decided I'd come anyways," Ten responded running a hand through his hair.

"Well, I'm glad you're here," Rose said. The auditions began and so the two had to quiet down. Ten took out a sheet of paper and casually began writing on it, handing it to Rose.

_Sorry I wasn't at school today. I had a dentist appointment._

Rose wrote a note back.

_I was wondering why you weren't. Is Eight still going to make you sing? You know, with a sore mouth and all?_

Ten chuckled softly at the note back.

_Oh yeah. He takes no excuse when it comes to the musical. _

Nine looked at the two of them with a curious look, and then a look that was not the happiest in the world directed towards Ten, before returning to the stage.

"Alright Nine," Eight called.

"Not going to sing," Nine answered, "Only a speaking part."

"Alright, then," Eight replied with a nod writing down something on his paper.

"Why not?" Rose asked.

"Can't sing," Nine answered.

"Well, you can try," Rose said, "I can't sing at all, either. I'm still going to try." Nine studied Rose before sighing.

"Fine..." Nine sighed and raised his voice, calling towards Eight, "You know, I think I'll try." Eight looked at Nine with a shocked look.

"Up on stage, then, Nine," Turlough said, as Eight was speechless. Apparently it was extremely surprising that Nine would give singing a try.

Rose noticed it was her turn to write the note back to Ten, but she concentrated on Nine on stage who looked pale at the thought of singing in front of people. The song began. He wasn't too bad at the start, but as soon as it picked up tempo it was obvious he could not read a rhythm. Then again, there were some complicated rhythms in a fairly easy range, which accounted for it. It was obvious he hadn't ever read music before, nor was his voice trained in the art of singing, but it really was not that bad.

Ten took the paper from Rose and was about to write something, but he seemed entranced by Nine's not-that-bad singing. Rose had a feeling it surprised everyone that Nine was actually up there. The song he was trying out with was about a man who travelled in time and space, before he met a young girl whom he fell in love with. Adventures and shenanigans ensued. This song was the lead's solo about how he was starting to fall in love with the girl.

Nine finished and left the stage without a word. He walked over and took the position he was in before, as if he never left.

"Ten!" The next call was. Ten handed the paper which he had thought to write on during Nine's audition to Rose.

_Congratulations, Rose! You actually made him try-out for a singing part. None of us have been able to do it before._

Rose folded the paper and pocketed it, with a smile. She looked at Nine who then looked back at her and smiled widely at her for just a moment before the smile disappeared and he returned his attention to Ten.

Ten was like a wailing cat. It was almost like he was trying to throw the audition. Eight looked perfectly calm, while Turlough looked like he was going to die from the cat wailing coming from Ten. Ten looked like he was having fun with it though. Rose could swear she heard Nine chuckle as Turlough told Ten to stop, and that it was good.

"Now for the girls," Eight announced picking up a paper from the stack, "Donna Noble." A girl, about Rose's age, maybe a little older, with long red hair walked up to the stage. Ten strutted up and stood next to Rose again.

"Good luck to her," Ten whispered, "Coming after a genius like me." Both Rose and Nine laughed aloud.

"Quiet!" Eight shushed, "Alright, Donna, begin." Donna began. She was alright. Definitely not bad, especially after coming after Ten. Who was a wailing cat. Donna seemed to be able to read the music at the very least. The girls' song was a song about joining the guy on the adventure and missing home, wondering if she should just go back home.

"Rose Tyler!" Eight called. Slowly Rose made her way up to the stage, receiving a reassuring smile from both Ten and Nine. She took the music from Donna and began studying it. All those symbols and dots here and there. Rose couldn't read it, but she knew the tune, thanks to Donna, and it wasn't that hard of a tune.

"Alright Rose, begin," Turlough said. The piano began behind her and she began. In the audience, Nine watched as Rose sang. To any other pair of ears it would have been just as bad of a performance as his. She was singing out, and confident, despite the all over the place notes and cracks in the same. Nine believed it had been a fantastic performance, but from the looks on others' faces, he must have been wrong. Well, at least both of them were not great singers. Rose finished, left the stage, handing the music to the next girl and basically ran back to him. Well, him and Ten, technically.

"That was great, Rose," Ten said and Rose hugged him.

"Really?" Rose asked.

"Just as brilliant as I did," Ten answered with a goofy smile.

"Oh... was it really that bad?" Rose asked. Ten began pouting.

"No, it wasn't. It was actually quite good," Nine interjected. Rose smiled and gave Nine a hug too. The next audition began and the three quieted down. Soon, all of those there had auditioned, and the scene auditions were to begin after a short meeting between Turlough and the leadership (which included Eight and a couple others) so they could match scenes to those there. Rose sat at a nearby table and the two other boys sat with her.

"So, who d'you think will get an audition for the leads?" Ten asked.

"Well, obviously you, Ten," Rose joked.

"Of course I will, but I was meaning who the competition'll be," Ten laughed.

"I think Eight'll take the lead," Nine said.

"But he didn't even audition," Rose replied a bit confused.

"Oh he did, he just did it yesterday so he could run the auditions today," Ten explained.

"Oh, I see," Rose replied, "So they're deciding what parts we're going to read for?"

"Yeah, that way we don't have to waste time auditioning for a part we can't get because of the musical aspect of it," Ten said with a nod. Soon the leadership came in, with Eight looking a bit distressed, but the others looked fairly normal. Turlough was wearing a warm smile.

"Alright," Turlough said getting onto the stage and addressing the small crowd, "First pair up will be Eight and Donna, reading for the lead roles. Ten will be reading for the role of Nestene." Rose forced back a laugh. Ten was going to be what was described as a blob monster in a pit. Well, his singing did sound a bit like what she would imagine it would sound like. The three headed up to the stage and began the scene. Ten basically let out loud growls and such as lines, and really, it wasn't that bad. Rose had to admit, Eight was fairly good. Donna did well too, but the eyes were mostly on the two boys until Donna's character came and swooped in to save the day on a swinging chain which she just pretended she had and slammed into Eight, which was being held by an imaginary shop store dummy.

"Cut!" Turlough shouted, "Good job you three."

"I really think being a blob monster suits you, Ten," Eight commented, getting up from the fall, "And nice realism, Donna. Really did knock those imaginary dummies away."

The next group went, a blonde guy, a brunette and a guy with light brown hair and a mousy look on his face.

"Alright, finally, Rose and Nine as the leads, with Susan as the monster," Turlough announced. Oh great. Save the worst for last, of course. The pair went up onto the stage and did the scene with the small girl who couldn't even seem to make a sound loud enough for Rose or Nine to hear.

"It wasn't my fault," Nine shouted at Susan who flinched, his face looking utterly distressed, "I tried to save it, honestly." Growl, growl, whimper was Susan's reply. Rose felt a bit ridiculous, feeling like they were only up there to be fair. The three of them were not singers, and Susan was obviously not a big blob monster.

Rose did her swinging thing, taking after Donna with the imaginary rope, but instead of tackling Nine to the ground, she hit the imaginary dummy to the ground and swung past, then swinging back, where Nine caught her. They looked at each other for a moment.

"Fantastic," Nine whispered and the two did their running off thing while Susan died miserably.

"Cut!" Turlough shouted, "Good job you three." The three vacated the stage and sat back with Ten.

"Not bad, not bad," Ten said with that goofy smile of his.

"Oh yeah, I wasn't terrible at all," Nine said sarcastically.

"No, you were great, if it was anyone it was me," Rose replied shaking her head. The next scene was between the main evil guy named The Other (it was originally called The Master, but they changed it due to Master Koschei's request to change it, so the audience did not associate the evil man with him). Nine went up there for one of the readings as the other. Thing was, The Other had a duet with the main guy, named The Doctor, which meant he would have to sing something by himself. Rose went up to read for the companion, Lily, while Ten played The Other and Eight played The Doctor. It was actually very fun. Ten was better at the acting part as opposed to the singing.

The auditions ended and the leadership left the room again. It was pushing 5 o'clock this time.

"So, if Eight's part of the casting group," Rose asked "Does he not get a say in the part he wants, or what?"

"Well, Eight doesn't actually get to choose. Only Turlough and Five," Ten explained, "They both aren't trying out, so they can be impartial. The others are just there to offer opinions." The three were silent, until Nine spoke up.

"Rose, after auditions we usually go to Fred's down the street," Nine said, "Would you like to come?" Rose smiled widely. She was beginning to think she didn't really belong here, and she still felt a bit that way, but this offer did seem to help.

"I would love to," Rose replied. She was pretty sure she had some money in her backpack so she could probably get some dinner. Soon, the group walked out of the room led by the red head Turlough.

"Alright," Turlough announced getting on the stage, "The cast list is the following: The Doctor is Eight with Adric as the understudy." Eight looked quite proud at this. "Lily Taylor will be Donna Noble and Rose will be the understudy." Rose didn't even realize that he had said her name for a moment and then her jaw dropped in surprise.

"The Other," Turlough continued, "is Nine with Craig as the understudy." Rose turned and smiled at Nine whose expression did not change. "The Nestene will be played by Ten."

"Yes!" Ten said loudly jumping up. Turlough raised an eyebrow but continued on.

"And then, Cyberleader will be played by Clara," Turlough announced. The rest of the parts were very minor, but the others would be on stage as extras as well. He dismissed the cast and Rose turned towards the two boys.

"So, how do you feel about your parts?" Rose asked.

"Brilliant," Ten answered with a charming smile.

"I dunno. Never really had a part like this before," Nine shrugged, "Well, anyways, Fred's?" Nine stood up without hearing the answer.

"Yeah," Rose replied getting up as well, walking next to Nine. Ten sighed and got up as well following the two others. The three walked down the street and stopped at Fred's, with a few others from the cast joining them there. It was actually surprising how fast Eight had got there, for when they left he was still there, but when they got to Fred's, he was already there.

The cast ate together and had a fun chat. Nine was fairly silent though occasionally put in a sarcastic comment. They were fairly nice people. Eight, Nine and Ten were sitting by her, while Adric sat across the rectangle table. Donna talked with Eight for a good chunk of the time, or really, it was more like Eight talked to Donna about how they were going to characterize the two characters beyond just the dialog. Rose listened for a bit to their conversation, before she got lost in their brainstorming.

"I need to head home," Rose announced standing up to leave. Those at the table said good-bye all together.

"Do you have a ride?" Nine asked standing up as well. The rest of the table resumed chatter.

"Well, I usually just walk home. It's not too far," Rose replied with a smile.

"I can take you home, if you want," Nine offered, "It's getting dark."

"I don't want to be a burden," Rose replied.

"You won't," Nine stated quickly. She looked at him, a smile sprouting on his face, infecting her face with a smile as well.

"Alright then," Rose agreed. The two walked from the restaurant, Nine not even letting anyone know he was leaving, and began back towards the school.

"Are you cold?" Nine asked glancing towards Rose, who was wearing a short sleeved T-shirt hugging herself to warm up. It was getting a little late and so it was chilly, but Rose shook her head.

"I'm fine," Rose replied with a smile. Nine sighed, taking off his jacket and placing it around her. He had on a long sleeve sweater below. "Really, you don't have to." Nine simply continued on. Rose was still smiling, and held the leather jacket on her shoulders.

"So, which one's yours?" Rose asked as they reached the parking lot.

"The blue one over there," Nine said pointing to a small car a little bit ahead. It was most definitely an old little car, but it was very clean. As if someone has obsessively cleaned it nearly constantly. When they were close to the car, Nine jogged a bit ahead opening the passenger side door.

"I'm sorry if it's a bit messy. Ten rode with me this morning," Nine apologized. Thing was, it wasn't dirty at all, unless you counted the one bottle that had no pop left in it. The seats looked to have been scrubbed down and the air smelled quite fresh.

"It's quite alright," Rose replied with a small giggle. Nine smiled back and went over to the other side and got into the car. "How's Ten going to get back to his home if you took him this morning?"

"Oh, well, Five'll take him," Nine answered, "He has the car to your right." It was a dull white car, just as old as Nine's with some grey seats in the back.

"Oh, alright," Rose replied with a nod, "If you drive down here until you reach Oaktree, and turn left, go straight until you reach Maplewood, turn left and go a bit until we reach my house." Nine nodded and started the vehicle, pulling out of the parking spot.

"How'd your day go?" Nine asked watching the road, though glancing for a second at Rose.

"It went well," Rose replied, "I met Eleven today."

"Hmmm," Nine responded simply. Rose bit her lower lip looking at Nine.

"So, er, what about your day?" Rose asked.

"Just as always," Nine replied. The car was silent again. He took the first turn as Rose had instructed him on Oaktree.

"Well... what do you like to do?" Rose asked. Nine seemed to flash a grin, before his face returned to the more serious look.

"Nothing," Nine answered with a shrug.

"Come on, you have to have something," Rose replied shaking her head. Nine shook his head in response.

"I just do what I need to," Nine shrugged.

"Nothing else? What about acting?" Rose asked.

"I only was there because Eight asked," Nine replied.

"And that's it?" Rose asked.

"Yep," Nine answered taking the second turn, down Maplewood.

"So, you only went up to sing because I asked?" Rose questioned.

"Yep," Nine answered simply.

"Do you say yes to everyone?" Rose asked.

"Nope," Nine replied with a grin growing on his face. Rose was looking ahead now.

"My house's the yellow one," Rose said pointing to a small yellow house a little ways down. Nine nodded, soon pulling over in front of the house. Rose sighed, picking up her backpack from the floor of the car, and opened the door. Nine also made a move to get out of the car. He walked her up to her door.

"Well, night," Rose said with a small smile.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Nine said with a nod. Rose opened the door and looked towards Nine.

"See you tomorrow," Rose said and walked in the house. Rose entered the house. Nine waited for a little while until he turned and headed for his little blue car. However, his walk was interrupted by a yell of his name.

"Nine!" Rose called, "I forgot to give you your jacket back." He smiled taking the jacket back.

"Thanks," Nine said putting the jacket on, "Well... now it's actually good-bye." Rose nodded.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," Rose said with a nod. She ran back into her house, and Nine watched. Once the door was closed, he turned back towards his blue car and got in.

"Trying to ditch me?" Came a familiar voice. Nine quickly turned in his seat seeing the familiar black haired young man behind him wearing a blue suit with that crazy grin of his. He relaxed and turned back starting the car up.

"Nope," Nine said, "How'd you know I left, Ten?" Ten laughed, shoving his way into the passenger seat from the back seat.

"It was quite obvious. Rose said she was leaving, and then the next second, you were gone," Ten explained, "So, I decided to sneak into the back of your car and see where you were going. Who knew? You could have been a bad boy." Nine scoffed.

"I am a gentleman," Nine replied a bit offended, "I would never..."

"Uh huh," Ten said disbelievingly with one of those smiles that said 'I know what you really mean'.

"Seriously, Ten," Nine said shaking his head starting the car down the road.

"Then what was with the whole smearing your scent all over her with that jacket trick of yours?" Ten asked. Nine turned his head completely away from the road to stare at Ten with a confused look.

"That makes no sense," Nine said before finally looking back at the road, seeing a red light close by and stepping on the brake. "You're going to be the death of me." Nine sighed making sure his eyes were glued on the road. The light turned green and Nine gradually sped up taking a left turn at the next intersection.

"So... did you kiss her good-bye?" Ten asked breaking the silence. Nine's face stayed straight.

"I thought you were going to stop talking," Nine commented sounding a bit annoyed.

"You're avoiding the question! Ha! You did!" Ten shouted throwing his hands up into the roof of the car, hitting the roof fairly hard.

"Don't damage my car!" Nine said indignantly.

"Sorry," Ten said rubbing his hand which was hurting from hitting the roof.

"And I didn't, Ten. You know how it is for us and having... someone. Moffat has to approve. I don't think he'd approve Rose," Nine sighed, "If I really thought of her that way, anyways."

"Why wouldn't he? He loves River! And approved Jaime and Grace!" Ten insisted.

"Yeah, well... she's different than them. At least they have some... training," Nine said taking a right turn.

"Maybe you should ask before you assume," Ten noted with one of those goofy grins of his. The car stopped at the end of the street, where a large building, dull grey in color stood.

"Home sweet home," Nine sighed, getting out of the car. Ten followed, looking over the blue roof at Nine.

"If you don't ask, I'll ask for me," Ten warned.

"Go ahead. I don't think of her in that way, Ten," Nine replied with an annoyed look on his face before turning and walking towards the grey building. It was worn down, but the paint was not chipping at all. There were no decorative features of the building, appearing as just a large box on some yellow grass.

"You don't have to lie to me," Ten said running after Nine, whose pace was a swift one.

"I'm not," Nine replied gruffly.

"I know you, Nine, I know how you think," Ten noted and Nine simply opened the front door entering the house. Inside was a crowded room with various chairs and two doors leading to other rooms presumably, and a set of stairs was directly to one's right when they entered. Nine walked up the stairs.

"Think whatever you want," Nine shrugged reaching the top of the stairs and walking down a long hallway with at least twenty rooms down it.

"Oh, come on Nine," Ten said with a bit of a pout to it, "I just want you to be happy."

"I am happy, see?" Nine flashed a smile at Ten and shook his head, "Now, leave me alone, please?"

"Fine," Ten sighed and turned towards the room next to the door that Nine was standing at. Nine quickly went through the door and closed the door behind him. He looked at the room, his eyes immediately darting to the small single bed where a man was waiting for him, reclined. The man had grey eyes and short greying black curly hair. He almost looked a bit sinister.

"Moffat," Nine sighed after the initial shock.

"Yes, that's me," the man replied with a smile, sitting up and watching Nine with those dark grey eyes. "I hear you have your eyes on a girl."

"I don't," Nine huffed. He was going to get whoever had told such... lies to the great and powerful Moffat.

"Rose Tyler," Moffat stated, "A new transfer, arrived yesterday."

"I don't have my eyes on a girl," Nine insisted, "Whoever told you was lying."

"No one told me," Moffat laughed, "You know I watch all of you and when one of my boys has an eye on someone... well, they attract my attention even more."

"You are mistaken, Moffat," Nine replied, "She's just a girl I was helping out today."

"Always the gentleman, you are," Moffat laughed once more, "Won't even admit he might have... ungentlemanly thoughts about another."

"Of course I've had... those thoughts, just not about her, alright?" Nine insisted shaking his head taking a step closer to Moffat.

"Whatever you insist, Nine," Moffat shrugged, holding his forearm across his body. On his wrist a curious band was around it, with little lights on a light brown leather. "In the end, you'll sacrifice everything for her, but another will lose her instead."

"What?" Nine asked. Moffat did not reply, and simply pressed a button on the device and disappeared. "Sometimes I wonder what is going through that man's mind," Nine muttered to himself before laying on his bed. It was not long before a knock interrupted the silence that came. "What is it?" Nine groaned looking towards the door. The door opened revealing a tall man with puffy silver hair and a wide nose.

"You have a mission," The man said and Nine bolted upright.

"What? Why now, Three?" Nine asked.

"Ask Moffat, he'd know," Three shrugged.

"He could have said something earlier when he visited," Nine mumbled.

"He visited you?" Three asked curiously.

"Yeah, he did," Nine answered with a nod, standing up and straightening his leather jacket.

"What'd he have to say?" Three wondered.

"Nothing really. Something about this new girl at school," Nine answered walking past Three and out of the room.

"Would that happen to be Rose?" Three asked.

"Yep," Nine replied.

"I think Ten's a bit obsessed with her," Three laughed.

"To say the least. He won't shut up about her to me," Nine said with a slight smile as the two walked down the hall and the stairs together. Three was wearing a ridiculous get up, with a frilly white shirt and a green velvet jacket.

"Not to I, either," Three chuckled. At least Ten wasn't trying to spread word of what Ten assumed was affection for Rose. Or Three was nice enough to not mention it. The two reached the end of the stairs and weaved their way through the room with the chairs into another room, an outdated kitchen. On an island in the middle of the room was a rolled up piece of paper with the word "Nine" scrawled on it.

Nine took the paper and unrolled it reading the words carefully as the color drained from his face. He crumpled the piece of paper in his hands and swiftly left the room.

"Nine?" Three called following him out of the room. On the way Seven and Ten joined Three in the pursuit, all looking equally worried about Nine. Nine stopped and turned around to look at his pursuers.

"You know Moffat's orders. I have to go," Nine said quickly.

"You've been on missions before, but you never act like this," Three stated.

"Probably just mad that he won't see Rose tomorrow," Ten snickered earning him a slap across the back of his head from Three.

"It's a double eight zero," Nine replied simply. The boys stared at Nine exchanging looks of worry. "Don't worry. I'll get out there alive." He placed on a mask of confidence.

"But… Twelve…" Seven, the Scottish one, said worriedly.

"Maybe I'll even be able to find him," Nine suggested, "I have to go."

"Be careful," Three said, "And remember us." Nine nodded and quickly turned back around and went down the dark hallway eventually, disappearing into the darkness.

"We have to tell the others," Seven quickly said. Three raised a hand and shook his head.

"I don't think so," Three said, "Moffat knows what he's doing. No one else has to know Nine has a double eight zero."

"Why not? He'll probably never return!" Ten insisted.

"I'm not so sure," Three replied.

"How can't you be? What about Twelve?" Seven asked.

"I believe he was… an experiment. To see which one of us would need to go, and when that one would need to go," Three answered.

"And how do you know this?" Ten asked.

"I don't. But I am almost certain I am correct," Three answered, "Nine will rejoin us soon."

"Whatever you say. If he's not back in a week, I'll tell everyone, though," Ten warned, "And Eight'll kill him for missing rehearsals."

**The next chapter has taken longer to write than I anticipated, but it is done! So I hope you enjoyed this chapter and soon the next will come! Tell me, what do you think so far? **


	4. He's Back!

Rose began settling in at her new school quickly. She had girl friends that she ate lunch with and the numbered boys to chat with. However, something wasn't right. She couldn't find Nine anywhere. Once she asked Ten where he was, but Ten acted like he didn't hear the question at all. Rose asked Eight, but he was too absorbed in his part to pay enough attention to her question. She even asked Five in theater, but Five would just shrug and continue on. Something was wrong with Nine. He'd been missing for almost a week now and she couldn't do anything about it. None of his brothers would tell her anything and her friends did not know anything about it.

Turned out it was good thing she took Nine's part in their little skit because he was absent when it was set to perform. It went well. Rose knew her small amount of lines while the two boys did most of the work. After their performance, Rose sat down at her table with a sigh, worried about Nine and how he had been 'sick' for exactly a week now. From behind, a note slid on her table. She quickly looked back, but she didn't see anyone behind her.

_Meet me after school in the parking lot by Five's car. _

Rose read the message a couple of times over and looked back at where the note-leaver had left the room. Quickly she stowed the message in her rucksack and looked over at the current performance which included the boy Adric, Craig and Susan. Susan looked much more confident today than she had the auditions. For the last week, she had gotten to know Donna, Eight, and Adric better at the rehearsals, as the rehearsals so far were only for the two main parts and their understudies.

"Rose," Five said taking a seat next to her, "We won't need you at rehearsal today. Just Eight and Adric. This one time only, though."

"Thanks for the head up," Rose said with a smile.

"No problem," Five replied and stood up to leave, but Rose stopped him by holding him by the hand. He responded with a smile and sat back down. "What is it?" Five almost looked worried.

"Is there something wrong with Ten?" Rose asked. Ten had been acting oddly ever since Nine stopped showing up. Five sighed and placed his other hand over their hands that were held together by her force.

"He's alright," Five assured her, "He's just worried about Nine. As you probably are." There was something about Five's warm smile that made her feel at ease around him.

"They're both alright, right?" Rose asked.

"Yes. Nine should be back at school soon," Five answered, "And Ten will stop being worried."

"What happened to Twelve?" Rose asked quickly biting her lower lip hoping she wasn't prying.

"What?" Five wondered.

"Well, Ten said something about Twelve when I first met him. But I haven't met a Twelve anywhere, and no one seems to talk about him," Rose explained. Five's looked changed to a worried look. He smiled weakly and quickly pulled his hands away from her and placed them into his pockets. Rose couldn't help but think that those striped trousers he was wearing, and seemed to have several pairs of, were very not in style.

"Twelve went missing," Five answered a bit strained, "Don't worry about it. Three's hot on his trail. Probably just went traveling without telling anyone." While Rose had a feeling that wasn't the whole truth, she let it drop. Five nervously took his hands out of his pockets and stood up. "I need to tell Donna about the rehearsal." Rose nodded and Five took his leave. He almost looked relieved to get out of the conversation. Class ended with little else happening. Five dashed from the room quickly, and Eight stayed behind and had a conversation with Turlough.

Rose quickly made her way to Master Koschei's class. Over the past week Rose had caught up in his class, and all of her other classes as well, so at least she wasn't completely lost. Thanks to Martha, that is. She was very smart and helped her during lunch with the things that she had missed by coming in half-way through the year. Of course, Tegan and Grace were there as well, though they weren't as much help. Rose also had a feeling that Mickey might like her more than he was letting on. Sometimes she would look over at him and he would jerk his head away from her, like he had been staring at her and he didn't want her to see. Sure, he was a nice guy, and maybe she could see them in a relationship… but… there was just something wrong about the whole idea.

Class went by like it normally did. Master Koschei lectured and asked questions, physics this, force times velocity that. Rose parted with Martha and headed to Professor Song's class, where she expected to see Ten, but as it turned out, he didn't come in. Was he sick? No, she had seen him this morning… Did he skip? What was wrong with him? He had to pass this class in order to graduate, right? Skipping didn't help that at all.

By the time lunch came, she was pretty worried about Ten and about Nine. But worrying about Nine wasn't anything new. Ten didn't skip normally. At least he hadn't for the last week. Rose got her food quickly and sat down at the regular table. Surprisingly, she was the first one at the table. Usually Grace or Tegan or Martha were there before she was, but today was different. Today was a weird day indeed. When Martha arrived she took a seat next to Rose.

"Hey, Rose," Martha greeted.

"Hi," Rose greeted back with a nod.

"Something wrong?" Martha asked.

"Oh… nothing. Ten skipped English, and well, you know about Nine," Rose answered with a shrug.

"Actually, I'm starting to worry about Nine too. I mean, he hasn't been here for a week," Martha replied, "Normally, I probably wouldn't have noticed… but you know, I've paid more attention since you got here to him." Before Rose could respond, Tegan ran up to the table with a grin on her face. Rose raised her eyebrows and chuckled at how happy her friend seemed.

"What happened?" Rose asked smiling back at Tegan.

"Five asked me out," Tegan replied.

"You're kidding me!" Martha said happily.

"Not at all! He said that he had been wanting to ask me out for some time, but had to wait for the right moment," Tegan explained, "It happened just now, while I was walking to lunch."

"And you're here with us? Not with your new boyfriend?" Rose wondered.

"I told him I needed to do something quickly. Had to tell you two," Tegan explained her excitement seeming to grow.

"Well, go on, be with him then," Rose said happily.

"Alright. I'll see you all later," Tegan replied before quickly rushing off, leaving Martha and Rose by themselves. Martha looked over at Rose with a grin.

"If Five's asking Tegan out, then maybe it won't be long until Ten does too," Martha suggested.

"Asks out Tegan?" Rose joked sticking her tongue out slightly with a laugh.

"No," Martha answered shaking her head, "Asks out at least someone. Hopefully that someone is me." The two then ate their lunch together. Grace didn't show up. Both assumed she was probably on a date with Eight.

Once lunch was over, the two parted ways and went to class. History was just as usual. Ms. Rani seemed to be angry about something though. Then again, she always seemed to be angry that she couldn't have a position in the science program. That was probably it. In art they simply continued the project they had started recently. Finally, school ended and Rose made her way towards the parking lot, having not forgotten the message from theater class.

Remembering that Five's car was a cream colored car, from her second day when Nine had brought her home, Rose took a bit, but eventually found the right car… hopefully. She sighed looking around and seeing no sign of the note-leaver. What was up with him disappearing like this? After waiting for a little while, she looked in the window to see if whoever left the note was somewhere hiding inside. It seemed the type of thing that someone would do, scare her out of her mind and then pop out it having all just been some joke.

The car was just as clean as Nine's had been; it looked like someone paid very close attention to how clean the car was and the seats looked like the wear scrubbed down recently. On the rearview mirror a charm in the shape of a stick of celery hung moving ever so slightly in tight circles.

"Rose." She quickly turned around to see Nine standing behind her with a wide smile. He looked just as he had before, but his face held a huge purple bruise on his cheek.

"What happened to your face, Nine?" Rose asked as she quickly inspected the bruise.

"I thought you were going to call me Chris," Nine teased.

"Sorry, Chris," Rose laughed, before she got a bit more serious, "What happened?"

"Oh, I got sick, fell out of bed and my face hit my nightstand," Nine replied still smiling widely, though Rose figured that bruise probably made it hurt to smile like he was right then.

"You fell out of bed?" Rose asked.

"I was very sick," Nine answered. Silence fell between the two as they smiled at each other, both content with just watching the other. Or mostly content. Nine slowly reached for Rose's hand in order to hold it, and she mirrored the movement.

"Oh come on and kiss already!" Ten shouted from behind the pair just as their hands were about to meet. The two quickly lowered their hands and turned around to see Ten hiding underneath the car, now having slid out so his head and half of his chest was out from under the car.

"Ten!" Nine reprimanded.

"What?" Ten asked innocently.

"Go away," Nine ordered. Ten sighed and pushed himself out from under the car.

"Fine," Ten sighed and walked away dejectedly. Nine turned back to Rose and smiled widely again.

"It's just nice to see you again," Nine noted.

"Same to you… hey, Chris," Rose began, "We should hang out, catch up, you know?" Nine nodded.

"Yeah, I know the perfect place," Nine replied.

"Alright… Just let me get my books from my locker before we go," Rose said with a nod.

"I'll go get them for you," Nine offered.

"It's alright, you don't have to," Rose assured him with a smile as she began heading towards the school again.

"I insist," Nine countered and began to run towards the school. Rose sped up to a run, but being slower than him fell behind quickly. By the time she had reached the school building, Nine was nowhere to be found, but she figured he was probably heading towards her locker. The only thing was, she was pretty sure she had made a wrong turn somewhere and found herself lost in the mess of halls. She had no idea where she was now. Of course this happened to her. Just her luck. After a few moments of wandering, she heard a voice. It was a familiar voice… the voice of Mr. Turlough. Rose began towards the voice, but upon hearing what he was saying she paused.

"I can't kill him! Please! Don't make me!" Turlough said in a panicked tone, "I don't want to anymore!" There was a pause. "Fine. Fine. Alright. But you have to live up to your side!" She heard Turlough sigh and she quickly ran down the hall and around the corner finding him standing there, though he quickly tucked something into his pocket. She could have sworn it was a crystal of some sort.

"Ah, Rose. Is there something wrong?" Turlough asked.

"I-I was just trying to get out of the school but I got lost," Rose answered.

"No problem, I can help you with that," Turlough replied with a smile, "Follow me." He didn't seem as panicked as he had been just moments ago, and in fact the same sort of strained charm was present in everything he did. Rose did as he said and he walked her over to the exit of the building. She apparently had been quite close the auditorium and that meant fairly close to the entrance. "Careful around those boys, you hear?"

"Why?" Rose asked curiously.

"Oh, you know how boys can be," Turlough laughed. Rose joined in with a small chuckle as Nine ran towards the two of them holding a couple of books.

"Hello," Nine greeted Turlough with a huge smile, "Tell Five I'm going to steal his car."

"Of course," Turlough replied with a nod and headed back into the building probably back to rehearsal, leaving just Nine and Rose. The two smiled at each other for a few moments.

"Come on, let's go," Nine said and began walking towards the cream colored car with Rose following.

"You really don't have to carry my books," Rose noted attempting to take the books from Nine but he anticipated the move and blocked her attempt.

"I know," Nine replied as they reached Five's car. He opened the door to the backseat and set her books down. Then, just as Rose was about to open the door to the passenger seat, Nine opened it for her. She smiled at him and took her seat. He hurried to the other side and sat in the driver's seat.

"If this is Five's car… how do you have the keys?" Rose wondered. Nine reached under the seat and pulled out a small black box, which inside held several keys, all the same key from the look of it. "Ah, I see. A spare then."

"We all do," Nine answered, "This way, we could use each other's car if an emergency arises."

"Five won't mind?" Rose asked.

"No. He won't care as long as he has a way to get back home. Eight can bring them home," Nine responded with a nod, starting up the car. He backed up out of the parking spot and drove onto the main road.

"Where're we going?" Rose asked after a bit. For all she knew, Nine was actually a serial killer and was going to bring her to a place to kill her. That hadn't occurred to her before. She didn't normally do this sort of thing, but there was just… something about him that made her want to trust him.

"Hyde Park," Nine informed her, "There's a spot I like to sit at, great view of the park and everything." Rose smiled at the thought.

"Sounds great," Rose replied as the two pulled up to the park. Gallifrey High was actually very close to the park, and so it didn't take much time to get there. Nine quickly got out of the car and rushed over to open her door, but she beat him to the punch and got out before he could get to open the door.

"Up here," Nine said once he gave up attempting to help her out of the car and he grabbed her hand and dashed off into the field that was the park. It was a large area, with several trees and benches, with some people relaxing in the park, some walking a dog or two, or simply sitting and talking. Despite him being sick, he sure seemed fit now and Rose had trouble sticking close to him even with him holding her hand. Either way, Rose was glad that he was better and back. Nine let go of her hand and began climbing one of the trees, offering his hand to help her up onto a branch. She took it with a smile beaming from her face. He pulled her up onto the branch and then climbed a bit higher. This time, however, Rose took the initiative and followed Nine up, and got up with just a little help from Nine. When he finally stopped and simply sat on a branch, Rose joined him and sat near the trunk of the tree.

Looking out, she could see the entire park, and the sun was hidden just right by the surrounding trees that it didn't get in her eyes. It was a beautiful view, she thought. She looked over to see Nine smiling looking out at the view as well. The smile suited him well. Rose realized how she had missed that smile of his over the past week, even though she had only known it for two days before.

"I used to be afraid of heights, when I was a little girl," Rose said and Nine looked worriedly at her, like he had done something stupid. "Don't worry, I don't mind heights anymore." He looked relieved at this.

"How did school go?" Nine asked.

"Oh, pretty well. Lucky for you, rehearsal for everyone doesn't start until next week," Rose laughed. Nine laughed as well.

"Eight would've killed me if I missed rehearsal because I felt sick. He'd probably force me to come anyways," Nine joked.

"I am glad you feel better, Chris," Rose replied, their eyes meeting. His eyes, in this light, they twinkled with a sort of beauty she could get lost in. Nine was thinking the exact same, about her eyes, not his, though he would agree his eyes were pretty darn amazing… jokingly.

"I'm glad too," Nine said, "And you're not the only one who was afraid of heights."

"Oh really?" Rose asked.

"Yeah. When I was little, I fell out of a tree, nearly died, if it weren't for my parents…" Nine trailed off for a moment before he continued, "They brought me to the hospital. Broke a couple of ribs and my arm… my right ankle never has been the same since." Figuring it untactful, Rose decided not to mention his parents and ask about them. She had a feeling, from the way he acted, he didn't like to talk about it.

"Never broke a bone before," Rose noted with a smile, placing her hand on his that was holding the branch.

"Never?" Nine asked. Rose shook her head. "Ha! I don't think any of my brothers could claim that." The two fell silent, content with just looking at each other as the sun slowly made its way down the sky. In fact, their faces slowly came closer to each other. The sun was beginning to set in the horizon, an amazing view. Rose's heart was pounding out of her chest, thinking of what was happening, but her body did not want to stop it, neither did her mind really. Nine looked quite nervous about. Just as their lips were about to –

"AH!" Rose yelled losing her balance. Thanks to Nine's cat-like reflexes, he was able to grab her hand, catching her before she fell all the way.

"Careful, now. Don't want to break your record," Nine laughed as Rose was able to get her feet onto a lower branch. Nine climbed down to where Rose was and then offered to help her out of the tree.

"Thank you," Rose breathed when they made it to the ground again, "And I'm sorry."

"There's no reason to be sorry," Nine replied wrapping an arm around her shoulders, "I'm glad you're alright. Let's sit. It may not be as great a view, but it is much safer down here." Rose nodded and sat down, as Nine did.

"Hey, Chris," Rose began, "Could you tell me a bit about your family?"

"My family?" Nine asked.

"Yeah. Like, your brothers or… what is the name…? Moffat?" Rose wondered. Nine smiled softly and looked away slightly.

"Moffat is the one who adopted all of us. Well, he's more of a foster parent, who we rarely ever see," Nine replied, "When there were only three, he took care of them when they were young, but eventually they grew old enough to care for the others that came, so he disappeared."

"Did you know him personally?" Rose asked.

"No. My brothers are the only family I really have," Nine answered, "What about you?"

"Me?" Rose wondered.

"Yeah. Do you have any siblings? Parents?" Nine explained.

"No siblings. My dad died when I was a little kid. They were trying for another, but he died before then," Rose explained, "Mom's gone most of the day. Works until late at night. I don't get to see her expect in the mornings. I've really raised myself since I was about ten." Rose was sitting awkwardly, her legs were to the side, and held out of Nine's view. He found this curious, but he did not push the situation. If it were important, she'd tell him, right?

"Do you remember anything about him? Your dad?" Nine asked. Rose shook her head.

"I think… I might remember him telling me that he loved me," Rose shrugged, "But that's probably just my mind making it up."

"If it seems real, than it is as good as real, isn't?" Nine replied.

"Yeah, I suppose so," Rose answered.

"Would you like to meet him?" Nine inquired with an odd look in his eyes. Was that… excitement? It was different than what she had seen him before, when she thought him excited.

"It would be impossible," Rose said, "It's in the past. Can't really go back there. Or someone would've killed Hitler, I would think."

"But if it were possible. If you could go back in time…" Nine suggested.

"Yeah. I would want to meet him," Rose answered with a nod, "I'd want to be there for him when he died. Mom said he was all alone when he died. It's sad to think that… he'd just be all alone in the end."

"Maybe someday, you can," Nine noted.

"Ha! In my dreams," Rose laughed. Nine seemed to laugh it off as well, but something about his demeanor told her a joke wasn't all that was going through his head.

"In dreams, anything is possible," Nine said, "Come on, we probably should be going." Nine rose and offered his hand to Rose. She took it and stood as well, however, when her right foot hit the ground, she nearly fell, but thanks to Nine and catching her again, she didn't. It hurt. Like fire. Truthfully, it had been hurting since she fell from tree before. She had probably caught her foot on a branch then. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. My foot, it just… hurts a little," Rose insisted placing a small amount of pressure on the foot so it looked like she was just standing normally.

"It's swollen," Nine replied shaking his head, "Here, let me see it." Rose sighed and the two sat down. Nine slowly took off her shoe and found a large bruise with its center on the side of her foot. It was big, purple and definitely swelling, though thanks to the shoe not too much. The swelling went all the way up to her ankle and a little bit more. "Come on." Nine stood up and began carrying her, though Rose was about to protest, the pain was enough she did not want to walk as much as her pride told her to protest. Nine nearly ran to the cream colored car and opened the door to the front seat, setting her inside, and placing her foot on the dash to keep it elevated. He wasn't a very big person on how to treat injuries, and so he wasn't sure what he needed to do other than get her someone to help with her injury.

"Don't worry, Rose," Nine assured her, "I'll get you some help." He got into the driver's side of the car and drove away. "You alright?" Rose nodded.

"Perfect," Rose replied with a smile. The two went silent again, Nine focusing on the road and going exactly the speed limit (and admittedly sometimes he went over the limit… and not by just a little), taking several turns and driving along the roads for a while. Finally, he stopped at a house at the end of a street that was dark blue and large. Nine got out of the car and carried Rose into the house. When he entered the house he shouted, "Two! Two, I need your help!"

Four and Five appeared on the stairs, while Six, Ten and a man Rose did not know appeared from the right. And older man appeared to the left along with Seven, Eight, and Eleven. Finally, a short man with a mop of black hair appeared from up the stairs, which Rose decided probably was Two.

"What do we have here?" Two asked.

"A friend, she got hurt. Could you…?" Nine replied. Two smiled widely.

"Of course… Ummm… set her on the couch," Two ordered pointing to the left where a door way to a living room stood. Nine did not hesitate and did as he said. The television was still on (they probably interrupted Seven, Eight and Eleven (possibly the older one, which Rose assumed was either One or Three). It was some sort of sci-fi show about a group of time travelers fighting evil. Or at least that was how it looked.

"Let's see," Two said taking a look at Rose's foot. "Yes, this is pretty bad. Tell me if this hurts too much." Two barely touched the side of her foot and Rose winced. He continued to inspect around, barely touching parts of her foot to see where the pain ended. "Would you mind if I gave you a shot? It would reduce the pain and allow me to properly inspect it here."

"Er… I'm allergic to aspirin, but… er… alright," Rose replied.

"You are?" Two asked slightly surprised, "Peanuts?" Rose shook her head. "It shouldn't harm you at all then." Two pulled out a needle from his pocket and a small bottle of a liquid filling the needle with it. Did he just keep his medical supplies in his pocket? Really? How did he manage to keep drugs to give to people without the place he got them from being mad at him? "A quick pinch and…" Two stuck the needle in and pressed the end of it so the liquid went into her leg. "There we go. And three, two… one." It was like a miracle. Her entire leg went completely numb. Two felt around her foot, squeezing it ever so slightly and smiling widely. "Alright, one more." Two pulled out another needle and filled it with an odd light blue liquid and gave it to her in her leg as well. "Three, two… one." And suddenly her leg was back to normal.

"H-how…?" Rose asked.

"It's not broken, just very badly bruised, a small crack on the first metatarsal bone, but nothing that can't be fixed with rest," Two said, ignoring Rose's question. Two looked back at Nine for a moment before sighing and pulling something else out of his pocket. It almost appeared as though his pockets had to be stuffed with stuff, but they didn't appear so from the outside. Anyways, he pulled out a brace to support a foot, and slid it onto her foot. "Stand." She could feel the ten other boys watching her (although she could see Eleven was watching the television and not her). Rose looked at Nine who nodded and she did as Two ordered.

Her foot, surprisingly, didn't hurt at all from added pressure. It hurt as if she were still just lying there. She looked at Two with confusion. "What is this?" Rose asked.

"I-I invented it," Two explained, though he seemed a bit too hesitant in his answer, "It takes the pressure off the hurt area and allows you to walk like normal."

"And the shots?" Rose wondered.

"The first one neutralizes the pain, the second negates the first. It's a very… complicated drug, you see. Very expensive. I make it, so…" Two answered.

"And it's completely safe?" Rose wondered, knowing she should have asked that before Two gave her the drugs.

"One hundred percent," Two assured her, "There has been extensive research, and it's been proven completely safe… unless you're allergic to peanuts. Then we have a problem. But you don't… so…"

"A-alright," Rose said though she wasn't sure whether she really trusted Two.

"It'll be alright," Nine assured her. Rose shrugged.

"I really appreciate it," Rose said looking towards Two.

"It's no problem really," Two replied, "Especially for a friend of Nine's."

"Hey, Rose!" Ten said running into the room with a giddy smile on his face, "Now that you're in; wanna stay for dinner?"

"Ten," the eldest scolded him.

"What? She's already here, might as well be nice, Mr. Grumpy," Ten whined.

"Don't call Mr. Grumpy," the other boy Rose didn't know, which she now figured was Three. He had poofy white hair, Three did.

"He's being a –" Ten began.

"She can stay. I just wanted to warn you, boy," One interrupted turning around and leaving the room. It was getting a bit claustrophobic in the room, Rose noticed.

"I better go check on dinner," Three announced and left. There was something that struck Rose as odd. Like someone was missing. She counted everyone, including One and Three, and all eleven were there… Oh well, probably just her imagination.

"I don't want to impose," Rose said to the group of boys.

"Oh, it won't be a problem, Ms. Tyler," Eleven assured her. He was wearing the same sort of clothes Rose had met him in. In fact, everyone seemed to be wearing the same clothes as she had met them with, with a bit of variation. Four wore his scarf, Five his cream colored coat and cricket sweater, Six an outfit that looked like a unicorn threw up all over it, Seven a sweater filled with question marks, Eight his usual Victorian frilly attire, Nine his leather jacket and jumper, Ten with his dapper suits and converse, and Eleven with his tweed jacket and bowtie. Did they ever change?

"Yes, not at all. I'm sure Nine will be happy," Ten said excitedly. Nine glared at him. Two looked between Ten and Nine seeming to enjoy the exchange. "Oh, Nine-y will be so happy. We'll have to make sure to keep the two of them apart."

"Ten…" Eleven said warningly.

"What? They obviously can't keep their hands off of each other," Ten replied defensively, raising his hands as if under arrest.

"It's not like that," Nine insisted.

"So big ol' Nine-y can't lo–" Ten began.

"Shut up," Nine interrupted looking over at Rose who looked quite awkward, "I do apologize for my brother's… stupidity."

"I'm not –" Ten began but upon catching a look from Eleven that said that it was enough, he stopped himself.

"Come on, everyone, let's return to what we were doing," Eleven announced, "Nine, why don't you give Rose a tour before dinner." Nine nodded and looked over at Rose who nodded as well.

"Alright, come with me, Rose," Nine said and she followed him out of the crowded room, "Sorry about my brothers."

"No need to apologize, you already have anyways," Rose replied. The two hooked hands and went across the entryway into another room, it had a large table and several chairs around it. "The dining room." Rose nodded and Nine guided her into another doorway that wasn't far. Beyond the doorway was a room, a kitchen in the corner extending into another living room with a fireplace and a television mounted on the bricks above the fireplace. Three was busy at the stove stirring a large pot and occasionally checking the oven. Three did not seem to notice their arrival.

"Kitchen and second living room?" Rose asked. Nine nodded. In the living room area, Eight and Seven were sitting and watching a television show, Eight seeming to be entranced by the amazing acting skills of some soap star. Seven looked like he was trying to avoid looking at them, though he appeared to have noticed them, faking entrancement like Eight.

"Indeed. The backyard is out that door," Nine pointed to a wall on the far wall, "One's room is over there." He pointed to a door by the fireplace. "He's got the only downstairs bedroom. And over here…" Nine led Rose to the right where there was another door, which led to a large room with a pool table in the center, a television along the wall, seats all around, and even a pinball machine. "This is the game room." Nine let go of Rose's hand, walked over to the television and picked up a controller. "We can play videogames, pool, whatever." Rose was having a field day here. It looked like so much fun. It was well lit by overhead lights and a single window with open curtains to her left.

"This is fantastic," Rose said placing a hand on the pool table with a smile. Nine rushed to her side and picked her hand off of the pool table.

"Seven would kill you," Nine said in anticipation of her question of why he had done that, "He loves the pool table. See," Nine pointed to a sign that was handwritten and hung on the side of the pool table. It read:

_Hands do not belong on the pool table. Only the pool balls. So please, keep your grubby hands off._

Rose chuckled to herself a bit and smiled. "Alright, Rose, let's continue," Nine said opening a nearby door which opened into the other living room they had started in, behind the couch. Eleven, Two, Four, Five, Six and Ten were all still in the room. They seemed to be discussing something, but stopped when Nine and Rose came in. Nine led Rose out of the room quickly, the awkwardness growing by the second.

"Why are they acting so weird?" Rose asked once they were in the entryway and heading up the stairs.

"Not used to people visiting," Nine replied, "Sarah was the only one to come by before. Well, girl-wise. Though she did it on her own will, following Four, curious as to why he wouldn't tell her where he lived."

"Because your all so secretive?" Rose wondered.

"No," Nine said shaking his head, "Because we're all really like Ten in a way. The teasing that comes with bringing someone home. Assumptions are made. Two didn't bring Jamie home until they were practically married."

"Can't take the teasing?" Rose teased.

"That, and we really don't get close enough to anyone," Nine answered with a shrug as they landed on the second floor. It was a long hall with dull wooden flooring. Each door had a number on it starting with 2 and the door at the very end of the hall had 12 on it.

"Why not?" Rose wondered.

"We…" Nine hesitated, "We just don't." Rose was not happy with the answer, but she let it drop. The two stopped in front of a door with the number nine on it.

"I think this must be Two's room," Rose joked.

"You're right!" Nine said and the two laughed. Nine opened the door to his room and quickly shut it behind him. He cracked open the door and peered out. "Sorry, I need to pick up a few things first." Rose raised an eyebrow and he retreated back into his room. A few moments past and then Nine opened the door again, and gestured her to come in. Rose chuckled and walked in, though feeling awkward at being in a boy's room… alone with the boy, though she felt better that the door was open. That was something she really hadn't done before.

Inside, there was a simple bed with dark green sheets, a green cloth blanket and maroon pillows. Next to the bed there was a nightstand with a lamp on it, but nothing else. To her left there was a small dresser with a small television set on it, and beyond that, a closet. That was it. A bed, dresser, television, nightstand and closet. No desk to work on, a simple room mainly for sleeping in. The rest of the room was very neat and tidy, the brown carpet very clean. What was he picking up? And where had he put whatever it was? Oh well.

"So you do have other clothes," Rose noted looking at the closet.

"Everything's pretty much the same," Nine shrugged taking a seat on his bed. Rose took a seat next to Nine, and was actually surprised at how soft the bed felt. The two sat awkwardly next to each other, holding a hand together and looking at each other with small shy smiles. Nine placed a hand on one of her cheeks and slowly leaned in, closer and closer and then –

"Dinner!" The two sprang apart and looked towards the door. The familiar face of Ten peeked around the corner with a huge smiled growing, looking between the two of them suggestively.

"Shut up," Nine said standing up. Rose did the same.

"I didn't even say anything," Ten pouted.

"But you thought it," Nine replied and walked out of the room, Rose close by. As they walked down the hall, it occurred to Rose what had been bothering her earlier with her counting, upon seeing a door with the name 'John' on it.

"Where's John?" Rose asked.

"He left," Nine answered.

"Decided to move in with a different family," Ten added.

"Why?" Rose asked. Nine and Ten exchanged looks.

"We… had a fight," Nine answered.

"A big one," Ten added. And with that Rose let the subject drop, seeing that the two boys did not seem very anxious to talk about it. The three walked down the stairs and went into the dining room where all of the men already had gathered, the plates empty, a large pot in the center next to a casserole of some sort. Rose, Ten, and Nine sat down in the remaining seats, which were all next to each other.

"So… uh… let's eat," Two suggested. Nine was the first to pick up a plate and scoop some casserole on the plate and then took a bowl and put some soup from the pot in it, setting it in front of Rose.

"Thanks," Rose said as the other boys all did the same, leaving Nine for last to get food for himself. At first, dinner started with an awkward silence. Until One spoke.

"So, Rose. You're in the musical, I hear?" One asked.

"Oh, yeah. Eight asked, I couldn't refuse," Rose replied.

"A fine thespian she is too!" Eight announced. And then the conversations began. Around the table there were at least three conversations going on, with a bite or two while the others in the conversation responded. It was hard to hear sometimes, but she managed to keep track of the conversation she was primarily in, which was between her, One, and Nine (occasionally Ten would interject).

One seemed very interested in her life, and her studies, even asking what she was planning on doing when she was older. Rose told One that she didn't know, though a career in English or history would be her best bet, seeing as she did not really like science much. She learned that Nine wanted to be a scientist working on the theory of time. And she learned that One owned a newspaper, and Three worked for the military as the expert on finding and investigating matters. By the time dinner was over, some of the others had already left the table.

Nine and Rose retreated into the second living room upon getting an invite from Eight to join him. Three watched a curious soap that Eight apparently had recently discovered and became obsessed with. It was set back in the Victorian Era, though the people did not act of that time, with huge inaccuracies, but Rose could tell that Eight was in love.

Nine and Rose held hands as they watched, though there was no contact other than that. When the show ended, Eight retreated to his room, tears beginning to form in his eyes because a character he liked had 'died'. Rose had a feeling the character was somehow alive, though she wasn't sure how someone could survive falling from such a height.

"Well," Rose said, breaking the silence, and standing up, "I suppose I should probably head home."

"I'll drive you," Nine stated standing up quickly. Rose agreed and the two walked out to Nine's little blue car, nice and scrubbed clean, where Nine would start the car and begin the drive to Rose's house.

"Your brothers are incredibly nice," Rose said as Nine drove down the road. It was dark now, so the headlights lit the way.

"I suppose they were mostly gentlemen," Nine shrugged.

"Wish I had a family like yours," Rose noted.

"Until you have it, and then you want to kill the whole lot of them," Nine replied.

"Especially one called Ten?" Rose asked with a chuckle.

"Yes," Nine answered with a laugh, "Especially one's called Ten."

"So, Two's a doctor of some sort?" Rose wondered.

"Best in his field," Nine nodded, "Despite being so young, he's the best doctor you'll ever find out there. He can tell a broken foot from a cracked foot by just feeling the foot for a few moments. He's never had anyone die on him before. He's always found a way to revive his patients. It'll be a bit of a shock when he loses his first patient, I think."

"How'd he get so good?" Rose wondered.

"He studied medicine his entire life," Nine answered.

"And he invented the… thing I'm wearing?" Rose asked.

"Yeah," Nine said a bit hesitant.

"It's like his medicines are from the future or something," Rose noted.

"Seems like it sometimes," Nine said with a bit of a nervous twinge in his voice pulling up to Rose's house. "We're here." Rose smiled and rose from the car. Her foot still hurt but walking did not seem to make it hurt any more than it did normally. That splint Two gave her was really something. Nine walked her to the door. "Well, it's been great."

"It has," Rose replied, their eyes studying each other. Her heart began pounding again. Was it going to happen this time? It felt like it was. They were holding hands in front of her door, with no one else around to interrupt, or a tree to fall out of, and she could feel their faces slowly moving towards each other. Their lips brushed against each other, and…

"ROSE TYLER!" a shout came from the other side of the door and her mother yanked the door open, and the two jumped apart quickly.

"Mum! I didn't think you were getting home until late!" Rose said quickly.

"I decided to take a few hours off, and spend time with my daughter, but I come home and find her not home. I wait, and I wait, thinking she must be getting home soon, she probably was just held up at school," her mother vented, "But no. And when she finally shows up, she's with some guy, snogging him!"

"It was barely anything!" Rose insisted, "He's not just some guy. This is Chris, I told you about him before."

"The senior?" her mother asked her eyes wide looking quite angry.

"Yeah, so?" Rose countered. The two exchanged glares with each other.

"If I may interject," Nine noted and now the glare from Rose's mother was on him, "I was just bringing her home. We were at the park, and ate dinner at my family's place."

"And your parents were alright with it? You've only known each other a week!" Rose's mom snapped.

"I don't have any parents," Nine answered.

"You're living alone?" Rose's mom asked incredulously.

"No! I live with my brothers," Nine replied.

"So my daughter, only sixteen years old, was alone in a house full of boys?" Rose's mom retorted.

"Mrs. Tyler, I am sorry. I didn't think it was a problem," Nine insisted.

"Maybe you should have thought different," Rose's mom huffed slapping Nine on the cheek.

"MOM!" Rose shouted moving in between the two and turning back at Nine who was rubbing his cheek. At least it was on the cheek that was bruised. She turned back towards her mother. "It was my choice! Geez. He asked, I knew exactly what I was doing, I agreed. It's not his fault."

"He should know better," Rose's mom huffed.

"I-I think I should be going," Nine said.

"I'm sorry, Chris," Rose said with a sigh.

"I should be sorry," Nine replied and walked towards his car. Rose glared at her mother and went after Nine.

"Really, she's not usually like this," Rose said.

"She was just worried, it's alright," Nine responded.

"It's really not. She shouldn't have slapped you," Rose said. Her mother was calling for her to come back, but she ignored it.

"I should be going. I'll see you tomorrow," Nine quickly replied opening the car door.

"I'll see you then," Rose said pecking him on his cheek. He smiled slightly and got into the car and drove away. After he was gone, Rose stormed back into the house, where she was sat down on the living room couch and had a talking to.

"You can't just run off like that!" Her mother insisted.

"You aren't here. You can't control what I do," Rose huffed back.

"Don't you understand how dangerous it is? A house full of boys…" her mother scolded.

"They're all kind boys. Nothing happened. If they wanted to, something could have, but nothing did. Chris and I didn't even kiss! We just held hands and talked," Rose explained.

"But it still might have happened!" her mother said getting very frustrated more than upset at this point, "No parental supervision at all."

"He has older brothers," Rose noted.

"They can't be old enough to know how to control hormonal teenagers who only want one thing," her mother said looking as though she was about to breathe fire from her nose.

"He's different! I can't say for the other boys, but Chris is different, really, Mom. Like I said, nothing happened," Rose insisted, "Why does it matter if nothing happened."

"Rose. I am trying to show you that it is dangerous. That something could have happened. You don't want to make the same mistake again, and next time it could happen," her mother said.

"Fine, whatever. I won't go over to any other guy's place without permission, or parental supervision," Rose said rolling her eyes.

"I don't want you going over to Chris's house either," her mother stated.

"Why not?" Rose asked feeling it was unfair.

"He could be just trying to lull you into a false sense of security, or one of his brothers might prove not as 'noble' as you say Chris is," her mother explained.

"He'd protect me," Rose pressed.

"I don't care," her mother replied, "If you won't promise me to be safe and do as I've said, I might have to quit my job to watch over you. And that means we would have to move in with my mother in Aberdeen."

"What? No! Come on, mom!" Rose complained.

"Promise me you won't go to that boy's house without parental supervision again," her mother ordered Rose.

"Fine, I promise," Rose sighed.

"And tell me next time if you plan on going out later than usual, to avoid things like today," her mother requested.

"Alright," Rose agreed.

"I am sorry about slapping him," her mother apologized.

"I'll make sure he knows," Rose said with a smile.

"Now, tell me more about this Chris…"

**Hope you liked it! **


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